


The Erebor Café

by Kassandra85



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: AU, F/M, Fluff, Modern Day York, Slowmance, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-06
Updated: 2013-11-26
Packaged: 2017-12-31 16:33:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 29,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1033882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kassandra85/pseuds/Kassandra85
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a modern day York a young woman called Brenda Baggins meets her fate in a mysterious man. They could not be more different, but sometimes the heart wants what it wants.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My first fanfic on AO3, please comment :)

Brenda Baggins entered the small café at the corner of her street. It was pourring down rain and she was soaken wet from walking down the few paces down to the café. She peeled out of her jacket and tried to arrange her pinned up hair which she usually wore open.

Today was a special day, she had finally finished her master´s thesis defence and had a good few weeks to relax and laze around. Leaning back in the huge armchair at the window Brenda looked around in the small café which had become her second home during the writing of her masters thesis. She had come to the café often, there were just too many distractions in her home. Only there she could work in peace and quiet. It was a beautiful place, full of warm and cozy furniture and excellent tea. But the cakes were even better. There was a chocolate caramel cheese cake which made Brendas toes curl everytime she only looked at it. Brenda glanced over her shoulder longingly. The waiter took his time today. As she glanced into the display case where the cakes usually stood she froze. There was no chocolate cake! Brenda must have pouted because the owner of the café, Dis Durin, came in smirking at her customer.

'Brenda, dear! Don´t worry, the cake will be ready in a few minutes.' Dis smiled at Brenda warmly. During the time Brenda had spend her working days in her café Dis and her had become friends. Brenda had watched Dis kids once in a while, but Brenda had to admit that they were quite a handful. The boys could not sit still for merely a minute. Brenda adored them, but she could not bear them for more than a few hours.

'Take your time, Dis.' Brenda smiled back at her friend. 'I have time.'

'Oh right! You finished your thesis!' Dis grinned. She remembered how stressful the last days had been for Brenda who had worried to not finish the work until the deadline. 'We should celebrate this!'

'Sure! I´d love to! When?' Brenda cocked an eyebrow at Dis. She knew that her friend barely had time for her own, she lived for her sons.

'Believe it or not, I have time tomorrow!' Dis told her. 'My brother will arrive today and he will stay with us until he finds an own place.'

'Frerin is coming?' Brenda winced. Frerin was a nice fellow, but he hit on Brenda everytime they met and Brenda hated being hit on. She never thought of herself as beautiful or desirable and men hitting on her made her uncomfortable. Brenda had long curly hair and soft brown eyes and no idea of the effect she had on men. She was of an average build, but her petite form awaken the protective instinct of many men. Especially her big brown eyes made men crazy. But she was not to be underestimated. Despite her petite form Brenda was headstrong and had an intelligent mind. She could become very passionate when it came to things which touched her.

'No, not Frerin. My other brother, Thorin.' Dis had not told Brenda much about her older brother. 'You know, the one who worked for Black Water in Iraq?'

Brendas eyes widened. Dis had told her weeks ago that her oldest brother worked for the security company. Brenda knew only little about Black Water, but what she heard had been only little thrilling. The men and woman working for this company were either ex military or otherwise battleproven people and were known to be hard and brutal.

'He is coming to live here...forever?' Brenda wondered what he would do in the small town. He would probably be bored to death.

'Yes, he was injured badly in Iraq a few months ago and his unit was killed. He was the only survivor.' Dis told her friend. 'He quit the security business and wants to be with his family.'

That Brenda could understand, in fact that was the first good thing she heard of Thorin.

'I am sure that you look forward to see him again, Dis.' Brenda smiled as she saw Dis eyes gleam with affection.

'He is my oldest brother and I have missed him so much. After Vilis death he was there for me and my sons. I am happy to have him back.' Dis smiled and Brenda was happy to see her friend like this. The last years had not been easy for Dis. She raised the two small troublemakers all by herself and had her own café to handle. Her husband had died in a car accident on his way to the hospital when Dis ' youngest, Kili, was born. Dis had never really recovered from this loss.

Brenda had moved to York a few years ago. Before she had lived in London, Brighton and Dublin for a few years. Her parents died many years ago and after school no place could soothe the pain of their loss. Although she never felt homeless Brenda longed for a place to stay. York was close. She had many friends and she felt at ease. But something was missing, something which Brenda could not put a finger on. Brenda had studied ancient history, but only out of interest. She had no idea what to do next. She had been offered a job at the university, but she had never seen herself as a teacher. Suddenly Brenda was depressed.

'You look as if you really really need a piece of chocolate cheesecake.' Dis smirked and placed a huge piece in front of Brendas nose. She laughed as her friends eyes shone and her full lips moved into a smile. 'Seriously, Brenda, if I would eat like you I would be even more fat.'

'You are not fat, you are just not skin and bones, like me.' Brenda could eat what she liked and she never put on weight. On one hand she liked it, but on the other hand she wanted to have more curves. Dis was a very curvy woman and Brenda thought it really suited her. 'Who will make a man very happy.'

'You think?' Brenda could see the doubt in her friends eyes. 'Why should anyone be interested in me? I am a single mother with an own café, working my butt off and having no time for myself.'

'No way, Dis.' Brenda took her friends hand. 'You are a strong woman, handling everything that comes your way, either perils or good. You should be proud of everything you have achieved so far.'

'She is right, sister.' a deep baritone made Brenda jump. As she turned around she had to lift her gaze far upwards to look into the mans face. She let go of Dis hand and turned around fully, being trapped between the man and the bar. Deep blue eyes looked down at her and dark long curls framed his handsome face. A long straight nose and thin lips completed the majestic look of the man in front of her and Brenda had to swallow hard. There was something in his eyes that scared her. A fierce gleam, a look like a hunter would stare at his prey.

'Thorin!' Dis cried out and pulled Brenda out of her consolidation. She threw herself in her brothers arms and Brenda could see Thorin smile warmly at his little sister. The smile completely changed him and he seemed less scary. 'You are early!

'I caught an early flight.' Thorin gently kissed his sisters forehead.

'I would show you your room, but...' Dis looked at her full café.

'You can go, Dis.' Brenda offered. 'I can help you out for a few minutes.'

'Are you sure?' Dis smiled as Brenda nodded. 'Alright, you know where everything is...and leave some of the chocolate cheesecake for the other customers, alright?'

'I can´t promise that.' Brenda grinned. 'Go on, I´ll manage.'

As Brenda stepped behind the counter Dis took her brothers hand and guided him into the back, up the stairs which led to her apartment. Her sons, Fili and Kili, were still at school and Dis enjoyed the calm of her home. She showed Thorin to his room.

'Its a little spartanic, but I did not know what kind of interior decoration you would prefer.' Dis watched her brother as he put down his kitbag.

'Its perfect, little sister. And if this is spartanic you should have seen the places I slept in for the last years.' Thorin looked out of the window. His room was right above the entrance of the café.

'I am so happy that you are back.' Dis sighed. She saw the shadows under Thorins eyes and decided to leave him alone for the rest of the day. Besides she could not let Brenda alone for so long.

'I am, too.' Thorin sat down heavily on his bed. It was so soft, he was not used to it anymore.

'See you later, brother.' Dis placed a kiss on his forehead and headed back down.

Brenda was busy making a tray full of tea. Dis watched her place the cups and some cookies onto the tray and smirked at the matter of course of how Brenda handled things. As Brenda came back from the tables Dis hugged her tightly.

'Thank you for filling in for me. You´re the best.' she meant it, in the past months Brenda had become more than a friend, she almost was family.

'Anytime, Dis.' Brenda smiled warmly. 'So...that was Thorin?'

'Oh my goodness! I haven´t even introduced you both! I am so sorry!' Dis had completely forgotten her manners. 'I was just...so happy to see him!'

'Thats ok, Dis. He´ll be there for some time, there will be plenty of chances to introduce him.' Brenda twinkled at Dis.

The next day it was still raining. Cursing Brenda slipped into a sweater and ran down to Dis café.

'Brenda! I thought we wanted to celebrate this evening?' Dis asked her friend as she entered with a disgusted look on her face. 'Whats wrong?'

'Nothing. I just hate rain. And I hate that everytime I have come her in the last days I looked like a drowned rat.' Brenda muttered.

'You look more like a drowned mouse than a rat.' a small voice came from behind the counter. Fili and Kili peaked out from behind it and Kili grinned at Brenda.

'Very funny, come here.' Brenda hugged the two whirlwinds. 'Shouldn´t you be at school?'

'Uncle Thorin will take us.' Fili exclaimed. He seemed very happy to have his uncle around again. 'And he´ll get us this afternoon, too.'

'What a lucky man.' Brenda stated with a smirk. She hoped that Thorin knew what he had gotten himself into. Turning back to Dis she realised that she had not yet answered her question. 'Yes, we celebrate this evening. I invited Arwen and Lobelia if you don´t mind. Are we celebrating here? Its such a nice place! We can start here and move to the clubs lateron.'

'Sure, we meet here, then. Oh my goodness, what shall I wear?' Dis mused.

'A polo neck and wide pants.' Thorins deep voice came from the back and soon he stood beside his sister, smiling down at her. He had to slightly lower his head to fit through the door and Brenda could not help but stare at his broad shoulders. Thorin was athletic, but his muscles showed through the shirt he was wearing. Dis looked at her friend and smirked at her wide eyes.

'Thorin, may I introduce? This is my dear friend Brenda Baggins. Brenda, my brother Thorin.' Dis introduced them.

Brenda had to clear her throat before she spoke. 'Its nice meeting you. Dis has told me much about you.' she held out her hand and twitched as Thorin bigger hand closed around hers.

'Nice meeting you, too.' Thorin simply answered. He looked at the woman in front of him clad in simple clothes and a sweater. Her dark hair clung to her head in wet streaks and her skin was still cold from the rain. So this was his sisters friend. She had mentionned her many months ago and Thorin had imagined her to look different. Dis had told him that she studied ancient history so Thorin had thought her to look more...old-fashioned. With glasses and terrible clothing. The clothes she was wearing now were terrible enough though. Thorin disliked it when women dressed liked this, he preferred women who showed what they had. Confident women. His sisters friend seemed a bit shy.

After the short greeting and the silent inspection of one another Thorin and Brenda looked at Dis who only smirked at them. Shaking her head lightly Dis pulled her sons out of the kitchen. 'And off you go, have fun in school!' she hugged them close. 'Thorin, could you stop by the store on Lake Street and get me some vanilla pods?'

'Vanilla pods?' Thorin frowned. 'Sure.'

Dis smiled at the huge man as she walked out of her café with her sons. She knew that he had no idea what he should bring and was curious with what he would show up.

'He has no idea what to buy, doesn´t he?' Brenda asked dryly. Dis only smiled.

Later that evening Brenda stood in front of her big mirror with the content of her wardrobe spread all over the floor. She was not happy. She did not find anything to wear. A polo neck and wide pants. Thorins words to his sister made Brenda smile. She wondered if all big brothers were like that. No, they weren´t. Brenda remembered that Frerin did not behave like a protective big brother. Brenda was a single child and she had never regretted it. She was not used to big families and asked herself how it would be to live in one.

Sighing heavily she decided to put on her nice jeans and a black top. Her jeans fit her perfectly and the top was simple and classy. Brenda watched her reflection in the mirror and smiled satisfied. Her hair was falling over her shoulders freely and nearly reached her waist. Her hair was the only thing Brenda liked about her outter appearance. It was long, full and curly and in a dark brown shade, almost black, but in the sun it tended to gleam in a rusty brown though. Today she had straightened her long mane and was quite happy with the shine it gave her hair. Brenda barely used make up. Her eyes were surrounded in a thin black coal line and her lips were glossy with a nude color. She slipped into her black high heels and headed out. As she arrived at the café she winced as she saw whose car was parking in front of it. It was Frerins car.

'Brother!' Frerin rushed over to the huge man in his sisters café and hugged him tightly. 'Its so good to have you back!'

Thorin smiled widely and hugged his brother back. 'Its great to be here. How have you been? How is your business doing?'

Frerin had an own firm and spent much time in his office. 'Its doing great, but I had hoped that I would have more free time now that the business is running. We are selling our gold and jewelry all over Britain now.'

Thorin looked at his brother and dark memories clouded his mind. At the beginning Thorin and Frerin had both worked in this firm. But Thorin had a gambling problem and had almost drove their business into ruin. In the end he had sold his share of the gold and jewels to pay his debts to his brother and had left the business for the security firm. Now he did not know what to do.

'Dis tells me that you babysit the two troublemakers today?' Frerin grinned at his brother. 'Where is Dis going?'

'She wants to go out with some friends.' Thorin told him.

'Dis? Go out?' Frerin grinned even wider. 'Thank goodness she starts living again. That must be the good influence of her friend, Brenda. That woman pulled Dis out of her depression months ago. Have you met Brenda yet?'

'This morning.' Thorin nodded and took a sip of his coffee.

'And?' Frerins grin grew even wider. 'What do you think?'

'What do I think of what?' Thorin frowned.

'Not of what, of whom! Brenda?' Frerin laughed. 'Isn´t she great?'

Thorin could not understand the fuzz. 'Are we talking about the same person? Petite, brown hair, huge eyes, shy?'

Frerin smiled at his brother. 'Oh yeah, I forgot that you like more forward women. But yeah, thats Brenda. Wait till she warms up for you. She is always shy at first but that womans got fire.'

Thorin smirked at his younger brother. Frerin had a totally different taste in women than himself. That was a good thing, they had never gotten into a fight because of a mutual interest in the same woman. But Frerin also liked to play. He liked flirting and often busted his relationships because his wandering eye. Thorin was more forward. He knew what he wanted and he liked women who also did. He had had many relationships, none of them had lasted more than a few weeks. But Thorin was exactly what he wanted, he had no interest in something serious.

The door to the café opened and two women walked in. Both were incredibly attractive and draw the mens attention on them instantly. One was tall and dark and the other one was blond and busty. The blond one wore a dress that made Frerins eyes almost pop out of his skull. The dark beauty wore a blue dress which fell freely over the smooth white of her skin. The two women caught the brothers stares and walked over smiling.

'Hello there!' the blond one smiled seductively and eyed Thorin. 'You are Dis brothers right?'

'Frerin, nice to meet you.' Frerin grinned brightly. 'And this is Thorin.'

'Thorin.' the blond woman smiled. 'You don´t talk alot, do you?'

'I am more a man of action.' Thorin smirked and enjoyed the gleam in the womans eyes at his words.

'Arwen! Lobelia! I see you have already met my brothers?' Dis came rushing in and hugged her friends. 'Brenda called, she still needs a while. Lets sit down shall we?'

To her brothers disapointment she shoved her friends towards a small table in front of the cozy fireplace.

'Wow, Dis. Your brothers are really good looking!' Lobelia took a last glance at Thorin. 'Is that the brother who has been in Iraq for so long? Is he single?'

Dis laughed. 'Yes, he is and he will be till the end of time. He has no interest in relationships.'

'So...just sex then, I can live with that.' Lobelia chuckled as Dis choked on her breath.

'Stop that, they are my brothers.' Dis blushed. She knew that Lobelia had a active sex life, but the womans forwardsness shocked her most of the time. The thought of Thorin and Lobelia made her blush even more.

'I brought some champagne.' Arwen smirked and quickly changed the subject. She was very sensitive and felt that Dis felt uncomfortable. 'Lets open it so we can start drinking when Brenda comes in.'

Dis stood up and got some glasses as Brenda walked in. Dis laughed quietly as she saw Brenda roll her eyes as she saw Frerin. With a smirk Dis saw her brothers eyes widen at Brendas sight. She was exactly Frerins type, but she was also looking incredible tonight. Dis admired Brendas ability to look both simple and classy at the same time. The tight jeans and the black top caressed her body perfectly. What Dis had not expected was Thorins reaction. Her older brother frowned as he looked Brenda up and down. It seemed as if he could not believe that this was the same woman he had met earlier. A dangerous sparkle came into his eyes and Dis shook her head in despair. When Thorin had his eyes on a woman he usually also got her into bed. It never ended well. Dis only hoped that she misinterpreted his gaze.

With a shy smile Brenda walked past Frerin and Thorin and rushed to her friends.

'Brenda, there you are! Congrats! We are so proud of you!' Arwen hugged her friend tightly, followed by Lobelia. 'Master of Arts Brenda Baggins, that sounds...'

'Boring.' Lobelia grinned. 'But we are happy for you dear.'

Brenda laughed at Lobelias remark. She could not blame Lobelia for her honesty and she knew that Lobelia did not mean it as harsh as she sounded.

'There you go ladies!' Dis had filled the glasses while the others were talking. 'Here´s to Brenda and her degree!'

'Cheers'!' the four women lifted their glasses and soon the café was filled with happy chatter. Lobelia worked in a hospital as a nurse and Arwen was a gynecologist, the two worked together all day and were the closest friends. Lobelia always had funny stories to tell everyone and Brenda and Dis enjoyed the ladies night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slowmance starts, but who can resist Thorin for too long. I couldn't! lol

Thorin sat down in the soft armchair in the café and closed his eyes for just a second. He and Frerin had spent the last hours running after Fili and Kili who had not wanted to go to sleep. Thorin was exhausted. These two boys were too much to handle.

'How does she do that?' Frerin sat down in another chair and gave Thorin a cold beer. 'I would go nuts if I had to work all day and take care of those two boys.'

'Our sister is a strong woman. She´ll manage everything.' Thorin murmured and he meant it. He remembered that Brenda had told her the same as he had arrived two days ago.

The two brothers turned their heads as a cab stopped in front of the café and the four women walked into the café.

'I still cannot believe you did this.' Brenda shook her head, laughing.

'He hit on me.' Dis exclaimed looking utterly shocked.

'He did what?' Thorin jumped up from his seat and made the women jump.

'Thorin! Frerin! Why are you still up?' Dis quickly tried to change the subject.

'We were chasing after your kids all night - who hit on you?' Thorin did not fall for it. His protectiveness made Brenda smile.

'Nobody, just a guy from Filis and Kilis school.' Dis waved her hand at her brothers glare and sat down on the huge couch in the middle of the café. 'One of the teachers.'

'And what did you do?' Frerin asked curiously remembering Brendas words as they had entered the café.

'She punched him, right on the nose.' Arwen shook her head in amusement. 'The poor man.'

'He deserved it.' Brenda chuckled. At Thorins cocked eyebrow she added 'He was an idiot. And he was drunk. No need to worry.'

'Ah...big brother Thorin is just worried that somebody might get too close with our innocent little sister.' Frerin patted Thorin on the shoulder and walked over to Brenda who had turned his back on him. He softly laid his arms around her and suddenly felt a painful pressure on his right foot. Brenda had positioned the heel of her right shoe above his foot and was ready to step downwards.

'Get your hands off me, Durin, or you´ll regret it.' she growled at him and Frerin quickly pulled his hands away.

'Whoa, there is another innocent soul for you to protect, Thorin.' he smirked and retreated to his chair.

'My friends here are all innocent. I am not.' Lobelia murmured and walked past Thorin with a seductive smile.

Brenda rolled her eyes at her friends behaviour. She would be too embarassed to present herself to a man this way. But apparently Lobelia was successful. Thorins eyes darkened and he smirked lightly as she passed him. Sighing deeply Brenda turned around to make herself some tea. All the champagne that evening already gave her a headache. Little did she know that Thorin had shifted his gaze from Lobelia to her. He had seen her roll her eyes at Lobelias behaviour and smirked at her prudeness. Her fierceness towards Frerin had impressed him and he had not seen that coming. As she turned around Thorins eyes wandered over her back. She looked good in jeans and high heels. Her legs were nicely shaped and her bottom was firm and rund. She wore her hair straight today, which looked nice, but he had liked the curls better on her. As she walked back to the couch Thorin quickly looked away.

'Tea?! Are you kidding?' Lobelia asked her amused. 'Do we have some champagne left?'

'In the back - you stay put, I´ll get it Dis.' Brenda put down the cup of tea and headed to the back of the café. As she came back to the couch she handed Lobelia the champagne and leaned onto the couch to take off her shoes.

'You alright there?' Arwen asked her grinning.

Brenda moaned of relief and her head fell back as her bare feet touched the ground. 'Oh God, this is so good. Seriously these shoes were killing me. Thank goodness we drank so much, that made the pain go away.' she joked.

'Is a woman in pain turning you on, brother?' Frerin whispered in Thorins ear, grinning wildly.

'What?!' Thorins head snapped towards Frerin. He had not even noticed that he was staring at Brenda. Her moan had caught him off guard. 'Don´t be ridiculous.'

'Whatever you say, bro.' Frerin smirked. 'But remember my words, that woman is hard work. I am hitting on her for months now and zip.'

'Well, she has taste.' Thorin grinned and earned a nudge from his little brother.

'Alright, ladies, we´ll be off now. Thats our cab out there.' Arwen and Lobelia stood up from the couch and hugged Dis and Brenda goodbye. 'See ya around this week, we´ll pass by and drink a coffee, ok?'

'Bye, take care!' Dis waved her friends goodbye. As they were gone Dis turned to Brenda. 'By the way, have you heard? That knife wielding bastard Bolg was set free again.'

'What?' Brenda sat up straight. 'When? Why?'

'Who is Bolg?' Thorin asked curiously.

'A criminal who used to live here months ago.' Dis told him.

'The one who stabbed Brenda in the leg?' Frerin asked and earned a nod from Brenda.

'He did what?' Thorin could not believe his ears. Where was his sister living?

'I was at the wrong place in the wrong time. He had taken me as a hostage, here in Dis café. The police shot him in the arm and as he fell he stabbed me in the leg.' Despite the memory Brenda smiled. 'Thats actually how we met. Dis came to me and looked at my leg. It was just a flesh wound. As I realised that I calmed down, well actually I passed out, but that made me calm down.'

Dis chuckled quietly, but Thorin still looked worried. 'And now he is free? Do you think he´ll come back here?'

'Why should he? We did not know him, it was an unlucky coinsidence that he was here.' Dis shrugged her shoulders and Brenda did not seem worried either. 'But now that you´re here, he´ll certainly will not be able to hurt any of us.' Dis teased her brother. Thorin sat back in his chair, his face still dark from worry and Frerin tried to lighten the atmosphere.

'Do you have any plans for tomorrow, Brenda?' he asked Dis friend.

'That depends who asks.' Brenda stated dryly and made Thorin smirk. She really gave Frerin a hard time.

Frerin decided to ignore the dry remark and smiled winningly. 'The boys asked for you. Since you have a few weeks off now they want you to spend more time with them. Tomorrow the school vacation starts.'

Thorin nearly laughed out loud as both Dis and Brenda sighed in horror. 'Oh no.'

'If I´m having the boys tomorrow I should go to sleep now.' Brenda sighed and hugged Dis. 'Good night.'

'Wait, you should not go home alone!' Dis called out for Brenda as she was already half out the door.

Brenda looked at her friend with an aghast expression. 'I live right across the street, Dis.'

But Dis did not accept it. 'Thorin, you go with her and you bring her right to her door.'

'This is really not necessary...' Brenda started.

'Ma´am, Yes ma´am.' Thorin smirked at Dis and walked towards Brenda. 'You should know her long enough to know that its pointless to argue with her.' he whispered in her ear and stepped out into the night.

Silently Thorin and Brenda walked down the street. Neither of them knew what to talk about. Thorin suddenly realised that Brenda had forgotten her shoes in the café and walked bare foot.

'Aren´t your feet freezing?' he asked her and pointed down.

'Oh...' Brenda smiled sheepishly. 'I love walking barefoot and I have lost the feeling in my feet early this evening in my high heels anyway. I´ll get my shoes tomorrow.'

Suddenly they stopped in front of a huge puddle and Brenda sighed. She turned to the side to walk around it as she felt her feet leave the ground. Thorin had lifted her up over his shoulder and carried her over the puddle like a sack of potatoes.

'What the hell?!' Brenda exclaimed. 'Put me down.'

'As you wish.' Thorin smirked and put her down on her feet again as they had crossed the puddle. Brenda was so shocked by the events that she did not realise that they were still close. She practically stood on Thorins toes and she held on to his strong arms for balance. As she looked up into Thorins face she was fascinated by the deep blue of his eyes staring down at her. For a minute she forgot that she was on her way home and that her body was pressed against her friends brothers body. Thorin cleared his throat, he began feeling hot and if she did not move soon she would feel his attraction to her on her body.

'Uhmmm...thanks.' Brenda muttered and Thorin nodded at her. 'Here we are. I told you that it was right down the street.'

Thorin looked up at the building and thought that it suited Brenda. It was an old house, but classy and neat.

'My flat is the one on top. You do not need to bring me up there. I won´t tell Dis.' Brenda shyly smiled at Thorin who already walked backwards. 'Thank you for bringing me home, Thorin.'

'That was understood.' Thorin felt a shiver run down his spine as Brenda pronounced his name. 'Good night.'

He quickly walked away and shook his head to get a clear mind. This woman a mistery to him. She was not his usual type, but all he could do was think about her. That had to stop. But it didn't. Her moan and the picture of Brenda bending her head backwards had burned deep into Thorins memory. Thorin imagined his hands moving over her body clad in her tight jeans and the black top. He took a deep breath and concentrated on something else. Or at least he tried.

Brenda watched him walk away from the window in her flat. She could not help but feel an odd twitch in her stomach and a warm feeling in her heart as she thought about him. Suddenly she felt incredibly tired. Brenda stripped off her clothes and neatly folded them onto the chair before she hit the bed and fell asleep instantly. In her dreams she felt big callous hands move over her legs, thighs and breasts. She was surrounded by blackness, but she knew to whom she wanted these hands to belong.

In the following days Dis noticed that Thorin behaved oddly when Brenda was around. Thorin always was silent and grumpy, but it was the first time that he behaved that way towards a woman. To make things worse he started to hit on Dis friend Lobelia, who seemed to enjoy his attention. Dis saw the hurt look on Brendas face and decided to talk to her brother. But before she could she caught him kissing Lobelia at the door to their apartment and sneaked back into the café.

Brenda spend the whole week with Dis and her family, but after some time she grew restless. Thorins closeness made her nervous and his aversion hurt her. She did not know why he acted that strange lately. After he had brought her home he had been nothing but mean to her and he even ignored her when he could. As Dis told her that she had caught Thorin and Lobelia in her apartment Brenda decided that she needed some distance to get a clear head.

'I´ll travel to Rome, Dis.' Brenda told her friend one evening.

'Rome? Why? When?' Dis asked surprised.

'My flight goes tomorrow morning, it was a last minute thing.' Brenda explained. 'I just need...a vacation. Rome is sunny and warm at the moment.'

'And I am stuck here with my boys.' Dis muttered and meant her sons as well as her brothers.

'I´ll miss you, Dis.' Brenda hugged her friends close. 'Shall I bring you anything?'

'Just come back safely.' Dis smiled and wished her friend a safe journey.

'She left because of you. You insufferable...jerk!' Dis was furious at her older brother.

'Why should she leave because of me?' Thorin grumbled. He had heard this morning that Brenda had left for Italy and would be gone a week. A part of him was glad to not have to see her every day, but the other part missed her.

'You have been nothing but garstly towards her lately. I don´t understand that, after you had your fun with Lobelia you should be in a pretty good mood!' Dis snapped at Thorin.

'Lobelia?' Thorin frowned at his sister. 'There is nothing going on between me and your friend.'

'I saw you kissing two days ago and I know you both. Don´t tell me that nothing happened.' Dis snarled.

'Well...maybe something would have happened if your sons would not have ruined it. They came into my room and told me that they had had a nightmare and that they wanted to sleep in my bed. Believe me, nothing happened.' Thorin stated dryly.

'Oh.' Dis could not help but feel relieved. The last thing she needed was another of her friends feeling hurt by Thorin. 'Then tell me why you are behaving that way towards Brenda. She has done nothing to you.'

'I am not a very sociable person, Dis, you know that. Brenda is your friend, not mine.' Thorin frowned. 'Besides, Frerin likes her. If you want her happy so badly I would take my chances with Frerin.'

Dis only snarled at her big brother and walked away fuming. Men. Sighing deeply she thought about her two little sons and hoped that they had not inherited the stubborness of their uncle.

'Brenda!' Fili and Kili stormed to the door a week later and threw themselves at the woman who had just came in. Bags fell down to the floor left and right and a surprised shriek made Thorin and Dis run out from the kitchen. 'You're back!

Dis laughed as she found Brenda buried under her sons, bags everywhere.

'Whoa there!' Brenda was surprised by that energetic welcome, but she was happy to see the two troublemakers again. 'Watch it, you'll crush the presents!'

'You got us presents?' Kili looked at her with big eyes.

'Of course I did!' Brenda grinned at the kids. 'And if you let me stand up I'll give them to you.'

Fili and Kili stood up at once and stared at Brenda expectantly. Brenda could not resist their puppy looks and grabbed for her bag. As she pulled out two boxes the kids eyes started shining.

'Candy! Thank you, Brenda!' Fili and Kili grabbed the boxes and disappeared in the kitchen.

'Oh boy...' Brenda struggled to stand up as Thorin remembered his manners and helped her. His huge hand closed around her wrist as he pulled her up and his touch send flashes through Brendas body. After Brenda had muttered a quiet thanks Thorin nodded and stepped back to allow Dis to greet her friend.

'Brenda, its so good you're back!' Dis hugged her friend. 'You look great! Italys sun really seems to do wonders!'

'Well thanks, Dis.' Brenda grinned. 'How did I look before, like a zombie?'

'You know what mean. Sit down, I'll get you some cake.' Dis disappeared behind the counter.

'Thanks, you're the best!' Brenda called after her and sat down on the couch. Thorin cleared his throat and sat down on the other side of the huge couch. He watched Brenda take off her shoes and cuddle up in te corner of the couch with her legs pulled up to her chest. For a moment their eyes met and Brenda was the one who looked away first.

'So...have you found an own place, yet?' Brenda asked Thorin to break the ice.

'No, I haven't.' Thorin shook his head. Brenda had chosen a bad topic. Thorin loved being with his sister, but living in her apartment made him feel like an intruder. He needed to get his own place. But Brendas next words surprised him.

'Your presence is good for Dis. She seems happier since you are here.' Brenda stated softly. 'And the boys adore you. The kids need a man in their life and Frerin is rarely here.' Brenda cleared her throat. She almost did not want to tell him what she had learned from her landlord as she came back. 'Uhmmmmm, listen. The flat below mine will be free for rent next month. If you are interested I´ll give you the number of the landlord. The flat is quite big, you´ll get everything in that you would need.'

Thorin watched Brenda in astonishment. He would never have guessed that she would offer him to move in in the same house as her. The expression on her face also showed him that she fought with herself about even telling him that the flat was free for rent. Brenda was an honest person, so much he had learned about her.

'Thank you, that would be nice.' Thorin muttered and Brenda wrote down the number for Thorin to contact. As she gave him the little piece of paper Thorins fingers brushed hers for a moment and Brenda could not help but shudder. The week in Rome had been relaxing, she had been able to forget all about her friends brother. Now that she was back the torture began from anew.

'How was Rome, Brenda? You have to tell me everything!' Dis sat down beside her friend. There were only two customers in the café and they had been taken care off. 'How is the city, the people...and the food?'

Brenda smiled dreamily. 'It was wonderful. The sun was shining every day and the city is just marvellous. Beautiful antique buildings everywhere! And the food was the best! I´ve eaten so much pasta that I think I can´t look at another plate of pasta for the next weeks. The people are nice, too. The Italian women are so beautiful it hurts!' Dis laughed at Brendas description.

'What about the men?' Dis blinked at her friend. 'How are they like?'

'Meh...' Brenda wrinkled her nose. 'Such machos. They think just because they are mostly good looking they can do whatever they want. And they drive like maniacs, I spent the first day there trying to not get run over by the cars. Red lights are totally overrated there.'

Dis laughed at this info and Thorin nodded. He had made the same experience as he had been in Rome many years ago. Brendas description of the men amused him. He had found the roman women to be quite suitable.

Meanwhile Brenda grabbed her handbag and pulled out a rund object wrapped in her scarf. 'I had to put it in my handbag, I was afraid that it might get broken during the flight. Sorry for the packaging.' she grinned and handed it to Dis.

With a curious glance Dis unpacked the present and gasped as she saw what it was. It was a snow dome with the Trevi fountain in it.

'The Trevi fountain! Its wonderful, thank you, Sweety!' Dis hugged Brenda who smiled warmly at her friend.

'I´m glad you like it. The Romans believe that throwing coins into that fountain brings good luck. One coin with the left hand over your right shoulder makes you find your way home safely. Two coins make you fall in love with a Roman - man or woman - and three coins will make you marry the person you fall inlove with.' Brenda explained.

'How many coins did you throw in?' Dis asked her friend with a big grin.

'One.' Brenda cocked an eyebrow at Dis and smiled. 'Only one.'


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thranduil is a slimeball, Thorin is insufferable and .....well, read for yourself ;)

A few days later Thorin met with Brendas landlord and inspected the flat. Brenda had been right, the flat was huge and implied all he needed. The landlord was interviewing Thorin as Brenda walked down the stairway and bumped into them.

'Miss Baggins, how nice to meet you. We seem to have a new resident.' the landlord greeted her.

Brenda shyly smiled at Thorin and nodded. 'I know, I gave Mr. Durin your number.' Mr. Durin...that sounded odd in Brendas ears, she liked Thorin better.

'Well. I guess its settled then. We will meet again in one month and I´ll hand over the key and you are free to move in anytime you want.' the landlord shook hands with Thorin and left for his car.

Thorin and Brenda stood in the stairway silently and looked at each other. Thorin was the first to speak.

'It seems that we are neighbours now.' he told her quietly.

Brenda had to clear her throat before speaking. 'Dis will be sad that you move out. Although its really not far to her café.' Stop babbling, Brenda! she thought and swallowed nervously. 'Do you need help with the move in?'

'No, I do not have many things.' Thorin had lived out of his suitcase for years and he owned barely something. 'But thank you for asking.'

Brenda nodded and followed Thorin to the door.

'Are you coming to the café now?' Thorin asked Brenda and realised that she was wearing working clothes. Brenda wore black suit trousers and a nice grey jumper and her long hair was tied into a knot in her neck. Her black handbag matched her high heels and Thorin smirked as he remembered that Brenda actually was not so fond about high heels.

'No. Its my first day of work today.' Brenda told him. 'I took the teacher job at the university.'

Thorin looked at her in surprise. Dis had told him that this job was offered to Brenda, but the young woman had been reluctant to accept the offer. 'Dis told me that you did not want to work as a teacher.'

'Yes, I still don´t want to.' Brenda frowned. 'But I need to work. I go crazy at home and I can´t go on Dis nerves every day.' she smiled sheepishly.

'Its hard to have a job you don´t like.' Thorin told her.

'Was your job at Black Water to your liking?' Brenda asked and bit her tongue. She did not want to be impolite, but her doubtful tone was obvious.

Thorin smiled. 'It was...interesting. And exciting. No day was like the other.'

'But you were in danger all the time.' Brenda frowned. 'Is it worth it risking your life for money every day? Or risking to never see your family again?'

Thorin looked at the young woman and remembered what Dis had told him. Brenda had no family anymore. Her parents had died a few years ago and she did not have sibblings. In her position taking a risky job would have been more logical, but Thorin had never regretted it.

'It was dangerous, yes. But with the training and the equipment you get the risk is limited. It is a job like every other one. Policemen and firefighters risk their lives every day.' Thorin tried to explain.

But they protect people from harm, they do not go to their homelands and occupy it. Brenda realised that she only knew little of the security firm and sighed.

'I am sorry, I should not be judgemental. I know nothing of the organisation you were working for, only the things they say in the news. And thats nothing positive.' Brenda stated in an apologising tone.

Thorin smirked as he realised that Brenda thought that he was nothing as a brutal warrior. But her honesty and her apology impressed him.

'I can tell you more of my job, if you like.' he offered and Brenda looked at him with big eyes. 'I am not a monster.'

Brendas eyes softened as she looked up to Thorin. 'I never thought you were.'

Thorin felt a warm tingle at her words and looked back into her warm brown eyes. Before he could say another word they were interrupted by a tall blond man who adressed Thorin.

'Thorin! What are you doing back here?' the blond man was extremly arrogant. 'Shouldn´t you be in Iraq fighting villagers?'

Brenda frowned at the mans insult and looked at Thorin whose face turned into a dark grimace. 'Thranduil.' he growled. 'Shouldn´t you be at the university hitting at students?'

That man worked at the university? Oh boy...Brenda sighed and cleared her throat. 'Excuse me, I should be leaving.'

'Please forgive my manners, miss.' Thranduil apologised and smiled winningly at Brenda. 'Thranduil Wood, I went to school with Thorin. We have know each other for ages.'

'Brenda Baggins.' Brenda didn´t like the arrogant man at all. 'You work at the university?'

'Yes, I am the drama teacher.' Thranduil said proudly.

Drama...how fitting. Brenda winced at the thought of probably meeting him every day. Thorin still stared at Thranduil with a dark expression and had his hands squeezed into fists.

'Well, sir.' Brenda decided that it would be better for them to keep the distance. 'If you would excuse us, we were on our way to the Erebor café.'

'If you like good coffee I would be thrilled to show you a beautiful place near the university, miss Baggins.' Thranduil totally ignored Thorin and focused on Brenda.

'That is very nice of you, but Dis Durins coffee is the best. And I already arranged a meeting.' Brenda just wanted to leave.

'A pity, it was nice meeting you.' Thranduil cocked an eyebrow at Thorin. 'You both of course.' With a last wide smile at Brenda the blond man left and Brenda took a deep breath. Thorin clenched his jaw and Brenda could see that he was fuming. Carefully she touched his shoulder, or actually, she was going to, but she only reached his upper arm.

'Are you alright?' she asked quietly. She had felt that Thorin had slightly twitched at her touch, but she assumed that he was still tense.

Thorins glare was scary, but Brenda held his gaze and simply stared back. She was tired of letting herself be daunt by her friends brother. At Thorins nod she smiled and turned around.

'I´ll miss my bus. Have a nice day, Thorin.' Brenda took a leave.

'You too.' Thorin murmured and watched Brenda rush up the street. He could not help it, but her gentleness touched him. He knew that he had been nothing but a jerk towards her lately, but she seemed not to bother. Shaking his head to clear his mind Thorin walked back to the café.

Brenda came into the Erebor café later that evening and Dis could tell that she had had a horrible day. Brenda was frowning and she looked incredibly tired. It was raining yet again and Brenda had forgotten her umbrella. She was soaking wet and Dis smirked at the thought that Brenda actually never had an umbrella when she needed one. As if her day wasn´t stressy enough Dis sons managed to spill a huge cup of chocolate over Brendas clothes. As irritated as Brenda was she could not be mad at the two little boys and even comforted little Kili who had started crying because he was sorry. Dis felt a warm tingle in her heart when she saw Brenda with her kids. She knew that Brenda was no child person, but she loved Fili and Kili very much.

'Come on, Brenda, I´ll get you something else to wear and wash your clothes. You can´t go home like that you´ll catch a cold.' Dis guided her friend into her apartment. 'Come on, lose the clothes.'

'Uhmmm Dis, I can´t strip here, what if your brother sees me?' Brenda looked around.

'He is out with Frerin, he won´t be back till late this evening.' Dis started to look for something to wear for Brenda. She found a dark blue shirt and gave it to Brenda. 'Here, take this. Its Thorins, but you can wear it until your clothes are ready. Come on, I don´t have time all day.' she smirked at her friends shocked face.

'But...I can´t wear this...its...' Brenda was cut short by Dis.

'Its big enough so that you can use it as a dress, it´ll cover everything and it´ll keep you warm. Now shoo...' Dis started putting clothes into her washing machine and added Brendas clothes. As she looked back and saw Brenda in Thorins shirt she smiled. The shirt was so big that it actually covered half of Brendas thighs. Brenda folded up the sleeves so that her forearms were bare.

'Brenda, nice dress. Is it uncle Thorins?' Kili asked and made Brenda laugh.

'Its his shirt. Your mother gave it to me to wear until my stuff is dry again.' Brenda explained and looked around in the flat. 'Have you eaten, yet?'

'I wanted to do that next.' Dis told her.

'No way, I´ll cook something nice for you guys as long as I wait for my clothes to be ready. How is that?' Brenda blinked at the two boys and laughed at their cheers. Brenda loved cooking and Fili and Kili loved her meals.

'Thats so sweet, Brenda, thanks.' Dis smiled at her warmly. 'Would you mind if I go down into the café again? There is so much to do...'

'You go, I´ll send the boys down for you when dinner is ready.' Brenda grinned and shooed her friend out of her own flat blinking. 'Now, Fili you get the potatoes, Kili you get the meat out of the fridge.'

The boys obeyed instantly and rushed to their tasks while Brenda looked for the casserole.

Thorin returned to his sisters flat earlier than everyone had expected. Dis was busy in the café and did not notice her brother walking up to their flat. Neither did Brenda, Fili or Kili notice Thorin standing in the door, staring at Brenda with big eyes. They had turned on the radio and the three of them were dancing to Shakiras Waka Waka while they were setting the table.

You're a good soldier   
Choosing your battles   
Pick yourself up   
And dust yourself off   
Get back in the saddle   
You're on the front line   
Everyone's watching   
You know it's serious   
We're getting closer   
This isn't over

The pressure's on; you feel it   
But you got it all; believe it   
When you fall, get up, oh oh   
And if you fall, get up, eh eh   
Tsamina mina zangalewa   
Cause this is Africa   
Tsamina mina eh eh   
Waka waka eh eh   
Tsamina mina zangalewa   
This time for Africa

Thorin could not tear his gaze away from Brenda who wore nothing but his dark blue shirt. The young woman was dancing and moving her hips to the music. She was definetly no Shakira, but her moves accelerated Thorins heartbeat. Thorin let his gaze wander over the soft swings of her hips, her beautiful legs and the soft wet curls falling down on her back. Seeing her in his shirt made his blood boil and all he wanted to do in this moment was to rip it off her.

'Uncle Thorin!' Fili had spotted his uncle standing in the door. As Brenda realised that Thorin was actually seeing her half naked in his shirt she blushed violently, but there was nothing she could do about it anymore. 'Look, Brenda is wearing your shirt as a dress!'

Thorin smirked as he saw Brenda close her eyes and walked into the room.

'I see that Fili. It suits you.' he enjoyed the fact that Brenda winced nervously.

'I'm sorry, Dis gave it to me because my own clothes were soaking wet from the rain and Kili spilled his chocolate over me and...' Brenda took a deep breath. Just shut up, Baggins.

'Like I said...' Thorin slowly walked closer towards Brenda until he was towering her. 'It suits you.' His eyes were dark and radiated all the lust he was feeling for her right now. Brenda was shy, but she was not naive, she realised what he wanted from her. On the one hand she liked the thought, on the other hand she hated being looked upon that way.

'Fili, Kili, dinner is ready, get your mother.' Brenda asked the brothers and heard their little feet rush down into the café. Her eyes were still locked on Thorin.

The sound of a ripping fabric and an animalistic growl were the first thing Brenda heard. She was pushed against the kitchens counter with a brutal, but yet passionate force and felt a callous hand between her thighs, pushing them apart. Hot and needy she spread her legs even more and felt a hot breath on her face. As she looked up she looked right into Thorins dark blue eyes and felt his lips on hers next. His tongue pressed against her lips, demanding for entrance into her mouth which she granted instantly. The wet kiss was mindblowing and Brenda moaned into it. Her hands moved over Thorins upper body, stroking the hard muscles of Thorins chest, tummy and arms. She could feel Thorins thick fingers push into her and could not help but groan in delight. Thorin nibbled and kissed his way over her jaw, her neck and further down to her breasts. As he gently bit her nipples and continued sucking Brenda felt like burning from the inside. She whispered his name and felt his shirt glide down over her shoulders. Thorins eyes gleamed with lust as he looked at her naked form and withdrew his fingers from her core, only to replace it with his rock hard manhood. He buried himself up to the hilt into the petite woman and started slammig into her with a punishing pace. Wrapping her legs around his waist Brenda moaned deeply and moved her hips in the same passionate rythm. Thorin grabbed her hips to slam into her even more forcefully and left bruises and marks. The hard lovemaking was new to Brenda, but it was the best she ever had. The animalistic way in which Thorin dominated her turned her on in a way she had never thought possible. As Thorin slammed into the bundle of nerves inside of Brenda she cried out and left scratches on Thorins shoulders and chest. Blinding flashes blurred Brendas vision as an intense orgasm ripped through her body and then everything went black.

Then, Brenda woke up in her bed.

Brenda buried her face in the soft pillows. She was still captured in her dream and she could still feel Thorins hands on her body. Dinner had passed too quickly that evening. Brenda had felt Thorins gazes on her during the whole dinner and only Filis and Kilis bored nagging had tore Thorin away from her. Brenda had taken the opportunity to change into her own clothes and had left for her own apartment. Thorin had been disappointed that she had gone, but the night held a surprise for him. In his dream Brenda had not left. In his dream Brenda had slowly stripped in front of him, his shirt falling down her petite form, revealing smooth skin and soft curves. In his dream he sat down in the big armchair in Dis living room and Brenda had sat down on his lap, straddling him. Her small hands had worked his pants and freed his throbbing erection from its prison. Soon, her lips closed over his tip and her tongue caressed the hot head of his penis. Thorin buckled his hips and shoved all the way into her throat, groaning quietly. His hand gripped her long mane and pulled her down onto his manhood. Brendas hot mouth drove him insane and shortly before he reached his climax Brenda pulled away, leaving his need unfullfilled. Smiling at him seductively Brenda lowered herself onto his erection and speared herself on his throbbing length. Her head fell back in delight and her lips opened in a quiet cry. Thorin was unable to move, he could only watch the beautiful woman riding him. Brenda moved slowly, in a torturing pace. Her hips rocked back and forth and her hands caressed every inch of his body. Shortly before Thorin could reach his release he was woken up by Kili who cuddled up beside his uncle on the sofa where Thorin had fallen asleep. Thorin spent the night in unfullfilled desires on Dis sofa and quietly cursed in every language he knew.

The week passed without any further contact between Thorin and Brenda. Brenda was busy at the university and Thorin kept himself busy helping Dis in the café. On friday evening Thorin was kneeling down behind the counter to fix the small refrigerator as someone came into the crowded café and it sounded as if that person slammed down a forehead onto the counter. Thorin peeked up and spotted a streak of dark brown curls and a petite hand squeezed into a fist.

'Dis, please tell me that you have an entire chocolate caramel cheesecake ready, I need one and I need it right...now.' Brenda realised that it was Thorin and not Dis who she was talking to. Other things she also needed, especially from Thorin, came to her mind and she felt herself blush violently. She slammed her forehead back onto the counter and groaned irritatedly which made Thorin smirk.

'Now, Baggins, how was your day?' he tried to sound nonchalant, but there was a light shiver in his voice.

Brenda looked up and cocked an eyebrow at him. 'How does it look like? The students are driving me crazy and the lessons are so boring! I already try to make it interesting, but what is there to make interesting in history? As we discussed Alexander the Great I even showed them excerpts from the movie with Angelina Jolie and Colin Farrell to wake them up!'

Thorin smirked. 'That would have worked with me. But I told you that its hard to have a job which you can't stand.'

'Its better than having no job at all.' Brenda sighed.

'Why did you study ancient history if you don't like it?' Thorin asked.

'Oh, I like it. But other people usually don't.' Brenda moved her hand through her curls, sending shivers through Thorins spine. 'As a kid I wanted t be a cook, but...well, lets say I never followed that further.'

'One of my friends from school is a cook, his name is Bombur. He owns that restaurant down Blue street.' Thorin told her.

'Really? I've been there, the food is fantastic!' Brenda realised that she was hungry. 'He makes the best ...everything!'

The way the young woman talked about food amused Thorin. He made a decision he had rarely made before. Being spontaneous. As if on clue, Dis came down to the café the very moment.

'Get your coat, Baggins, we're going out.' Thorin stated determinately and kissed his sister on the cheek. 'You wanna come, too? We're going to Bomburs for dinner, my treat.'

'We are?' Dis looked at Brenda questioningly.

Brenda just stood ther with wide eyes. 'Don't look at me, I have no clue what just happened.'

'Ladies, you have ten minutes, then the cab is leaving.' Thorin shoeed out the last customers and smirked as he saw the astonished but happy faces of the two women.

'Wait! Whats with the boys?' Dis asked.

'We'll take them with us, of course!' Thorin felt strange. He had never done anything that spontaneous before, he always planned his moves. While Dis and Brenda got Fili and Kili Thorin called Bombur to make sure that a table was ready.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More in the next chapter, stay with me ;)

'Thorin, laddie!' a huge man with tattoos all over his scalp, arms and hands walked towards Thorin and almost crushed him in a tight embrance.

'Dwalin, its so good to see you!' Thorin said warmly and gave him a strong bear hug back. Brenda winced and imagined all her bones break if either of the men would touch her like that. 'Dwalin, let me introduce you to Dis my sister and my sistersons Fili and Kili. And this is Brenda, my sisters friend.'

Dwalin smiled warmly at Thorins relatives and eyed Brenda curiously.

'Professor Baggins!' a small white haired man behind Dwalin greeted Brenda.

'Headmaster Balin!' Brenda was more than surprised to see her boss at that restaurant.

'Nice to meet you elsewhere than the university, my dear.' Balin said warmly. 'I see we have the same friends. Great to see you Thorin, Dis, little fellas.' Balin grinned at Dis sons.

'You seem a bit young for a professor.' Dwalin look Brenda up and down. 'What are you teaching?'

'Ancient history.' Brenda told him and sighed as the huge man rolled his eyes.

'You look more like a gym teacher, dance and aerobic that is.' Dwalin roared of laughter and slapped Thorin on the shoulder. Thorin smirked as he saw Brenda gasp in fury.

'Shouldn't we take a seat?' Dis grinned at her friends expression and pushed her sons to a nearby table.

'Why didn't you become a gym teacher?' Kili didn't want to let go off the subject. 'That sounds like fun.'

'I prefer to use my head and not my behind to earn money.' Brenda stated through clenched teeth and earned a nudge from Dis.

'You and Thorin are old friends?' Dis changed the subject and talked to Dwalin who had sat down at the table with his brother Balin.

'We served in Iraq together and in various other places.' Dwalin told Dis. 'A great comrade, your brother. I trust him with my life.'

'What other places?' Fili asked curiously.

'Thats classified.' Dwalin answered sternly and looked down at the small boy. 'Lets just say your uncle and I have seen most of the world.'

'Have you been in Rome, too?' Fili asked further. 'Brenda has been there and she liked it. Although she didn't like the men there.'

Brenda winced quietly and tried not to look too embarassed.

'Ah Rome...beautiful women...ey Thorin?' Dwalin laughed and Thorin smirked.

'What do my old eyes see? Durin! What a pleasant surprise, a wonderful reunion!' an incredibly fat man came out of the kitchen. He had a long red beard which was bound around his neck like a scarf.

'Bombur!' Thorin smiled. He seemed at ease this evening and he smiled more than usual. Brenda smiled as she watched him with his friends, Thorin seemed like a different person.

'I see you brought your family. And who is this little lady?' Bombur eyed Brenda curiously.

'Thats aunt Brenda!' Kili exclaimed and Bombur looked at Thorin with an astonished expression.

'Wait a minute? You didn't marry? Thats Frerins wife isn't she?' Bombur could not believe that the ladiesman Thorin took a wife.

'Oh no...thats not...' Brenda stammered.

'Frerin wishes, Brenda is a good friend of the family.' Thorin explained. 'She loves your food, thats why we came here in the first place.'

'I love your restaurant, mister Bombur. You serve the best food in this region!' Brenda told him ans smiled as the small eyes of the cook gleamed with pride.

'Thank you very much for the praise, Miss.' Bombur bowed lightly. 'And I think we are all very thankful that you got to lure Thorin here. We haven't seen each other for so long!'

'Yeah and we are starving!' Dwalin interrupted. 'Come on, Bombur, get cracking! We take a bit of everything! And ale, lots of ale!'

'A bit of everything coming right away!' Bombur grinned and rushed back into the kitchen.

While the younger men warmed up old stories Balin, Dis and Brenda talked and the evening passed quickly. Kili fell asleep in Brendas arms and Thorin could not help but watch his sisters friend gently rock his nephew to sleep. Kili was her favorite, he knew that. And the little boy loved her as if she was his real aunt. Thorin smiled as he remembered her blushed cheeks as Bombur had asked if she was Thorins wife.

'Durin, if you continue staring at the girl like that you'll make me nervous.' Dwalin growled.

'I'll make you nervous? I was actually going for makig her nervous.' Thorin joked.

'She is not your type, I am surprised that you look at her at all.' Dwalin eyed Brenda. 'Although she has got something attractive about her, I just can't put a finger on it.'

Thorin could not tell himself. It was Brendas character paired with her petite appearance that made her interesting. There was so much more to her than was to be seen at first sight. Thorin took a deep mouth full of ale and already felt light headed. He had not been drinking for a long time and he had already lost count of the pints he had had this evening.

Bombur had just brought the Crême Brulée as Thorin heard Brenda sigh with delight. The way she was eating and sucking on the dessert spoon made his eyes widen. His gaze wandered over her full lips caressing the spoon and her tongue licking it clean from the Crême. He had to take a deep sip out of his pint and tried to focus on something else. As he looked back at Brenda he could see her staring directly back him. Her eyes burned deeply into his soul and the provocative way she licked off the spoon made him shiver. Brenda smiled at him sheepishly and turned back to her discussion with Dis, keeping Thorin hot and sweating.

Brenda could not believe she did this. But she had caught Thorin staring at her and wanted to tease him a little. The passionate fire in his eyes had caught her off guard, she felt a tickle in her stomach and had to look away. Get a grip, Baggins she scolded herself. She was no woman for one night not even for a relationship based on sex. She was usually only interested in men she could have a serious relationship with. Thorin was no such man, but Brenda felt drawn to him nevertheless. She remembered her dream with Thorin and wondered wether it was as good in real life. She just had to find out. But Dis had other plans.

'I have to take the kids to bed. It was a really great evening, we should do that more often.' Dis smiled at her brother and his friends. 'You can stay, Brenda and I'll take a cab. Or do you want to stay, too?'

Brenda sighed. It was not meant to be.

'I'll come with you, I have Kili.' she smirked. 'Have a nice evening gentlemen. Thank you so much for the delicious food, mister Bombur.' she thanked the fat cook warmly. 'And Thorin...'

Thorin looked up at her with a questioning expression.

'Thank you for taking ...us...out.' she smiled at him her face half hidden behind Kilis head.

Thorin had to clear his throat. 'You are welcome.' was all he managed to say in this moment. As the women and his nephews had left Dwalin slapped Thorin on his shoulder nearly making him spill all of his ale.

Thorin woke up the next morning with an awful headache. Groaning he turned around in his bed. Today he wanted to start painting the walls of his new apartment. And get furniture. Dwalin was to pick him up in...ten minutes. Cursing Thorin hurled himself into the bathroom.

Meanwhile Brenda came into the café to help Dis out. Her friend had called because the café was crowded, Fili and Kili were driving her nuts and she could really need any help she could get. She had planned to ask Thorin, but he was busy planning his move. Dis smirked as she tought about Thorin moving in below Brenda. She had not missed the looks between her brother and her friend. Dis only hoped that they would not end wit broken hearts. Brenda came in, binding her long locks up to a tight knot.

'Hey Dis, whats up?' Brenda grinned at her friend. 'What?'

'You seem in an awfully good mood.' Dis smiled.

'Its saturday, I do not need to work at the university, life is good.' Brenda sighed happily.

The door to the café opened and a huge man entered. His arms were covered in tattoos and he seemed familiar. He walked over to Dis and Brenda and grinned widely.

'Dis. Teach.' he nodded at Brenda who took a closer look at him.

'Hey Dwalin.' Dis greeted him cheerfully. 'You were at work this morning already?' she turned to Brenda and grinned at her confused look. 'Dwalin works as a lawyer and wears a toupee when he is working. Makes him seem more friendly it seems.'

'Oh right, you are the bald guy from yesterday.' Brenda stated dryly. 'Don't you want to introduce me to your hair, too?'

'Yeah, if you introduce me to your gym class.' Dwalin grinned at Brenda.

Thorin came rushing down as he heard Dis laugh. As he curiously peaked around the corner he saw Dis holding her stomach of laughter and Brenda and Dwalin glaring at each other.

'You know, teach, for two cents...' Dwalin started but was interrupted by Brenda.

'You could get a better toupee?' she finished sarcastically.

Thorin could not help but smirk. 'I see you two get along.'

He laughed as the two started shooting glares at him and held his hands up in defense.

'Come on Dwalin, we should get going. Bye, sis.' Thorin gave his sister a kiss and grinned at Brenda. 'See you later.'

After hours shopping for furniture Dwalin and Thorin collapsed on the couch in Dis café. They had found everything they needed and would spend the next day painting the walls. Thorin felt overrun already. The furniture would arrive next weekend and he winced at the thought that he would have to built up the entire apartment. He opened his eyes as the smell of fresh coffee filled his nose. A cup of coffee was dangling in front of his face.

'You look as if you needed it.' Brenda said smiling down at him.

Thorin thankfully took the cup and ignored Dwalins grin. Brenda walked over to Dwalin and put down a huge cup in front of him. Dwlain stared down at the cup, frowning.

'Hot chocolate? With cream and marshmallows?!' Dwalin exclaimed aghast. After he glared at Brenda he took the cup to take a sip, more out of stubborness as out of thirst. Brenda shot him a glare and walked back to help Dis.

'Holy shit, thats good!' Dwalin exclaimed and Thorin roared of laughter.

One week later Thorin sat on the floor of his new flat, groaning irritatedly. It was Saturday morning and he was working on putting his new bed together, which was harder than he thought. As Thorin decided that he would sleep on the floor forever it knocked on his door.

'Its open!' Thorin yelled and was almost overrun by his two nephews. 'What on earth?'

Before Thorin could react his flat was crowded with people. Dwalin and Balin were there, as well as Arwen, Lobelia and Brenda.

'What a nice big flat!' Lobelia was all over Thorin as soon as she came in and kissed him, thankfully on the cheek. 'We are all here to help and afterwards we will all go eating at Bomburs, the table is ready at 0800. Thats military time.' she blinked at Thorin and Dwalin and moved over to the room which was supposed to become the bedroom.

'Alright.' Balin watched Lobelia with a sour expression. 'Arwen and Brenda will arrange the kitchen, Dwalin and Thorin will build and move all the furniture and Lobelia will do the screwing.' he stopped as he heard what he had just said. His brother was no help, Dwalin roared of laughter and thankfully Lobelia took it with humor. With a seductive smile she turned her back on Thorin and walked away with swaying hips. Brenda shook her head and started working on the kitchen.

Many hours later the flat looked more cozy and almost finished. Brenda was amazed by Thorins taste in color. The livingroom was painted in a cozy brown and the furniture was dark brown. Dark green and small golden highlights were placed at the right places, not making it look corny. She was about to tell Thorin how much she liked his taste as a deep voice called out to her from the door.

'Professor Baggins, I was under the impression that you lived one flat above this one?' Thranduil stood in the doorway, staring into the flat curiously.

'What on earth are you doing here?' Brenda was aghast to see this man standind there, at Thorins door and was thankful that Thorin was in the bedroom at the moment. Probably together with Lobelia. Brenda clenched her jaw and pushed Thranduil back into the hallway. The drama professor looked Brenda up and down and smiled widely. The ancient history professor wore a pair of old jeans and a shirt with the sleeves pulled up over her elbows. Her hair was fastened onto a lose knot.

'You look busy.' he smirked.

'What do you want, professor Wood, now spit it out.' Brenda hated that man, but that seemed to turn him on even more.

'Well, you made miss Tauriel Bell fail your class and now she'll have to repeat the school year.' Thranduil told her sourly. 'She is my best actress, I would be very sorry to lose her.'

'Of that I am sure.' Brenda crossed her arms in front of her chest. 'She failed her tests, there is nothing I can do about it.'

Determined, Brenda walked back into Thorins home hoping that Thranduil would not follow her. As she saw Thorins dark expression she figured that Thranduil had followed her in. Thorin was about to talk as Thranduil arrogantly shut him up by holding up his hand.

'Professor Baggins, what do you mean by she failed the tests?' he wanted to know, slightly irritated. He had of course realised that this was to be Thorins home and did not like it. Thranduil had set eyes on Brenda and wanted to add her to the list of his conquests.

'It means that she has more wrong that right.' Brenda stated dryly and made Thorin smirk. 'There is nothing I can do about it, Thranduil, the girl failed all the test. She has all the requirements to be an actress, though.'

Dwalin grinned widely. He had never imagined that Brenda could be that fierce. Thranduil usually made women melt in his hands, but with Brenda he bit on granite.

'If you two are finished I would like to get on with the furniture. If you do not want to help you are free to leave, Wood.' Thorin growled at Thranduil who only shot him a dark glare.

'This discussion is not over, professor Baggins.' he snarled and turned away, leaving the flat fuming.

Brenda clenched her hands into fists and growled quietly. She jumped as she heard Balins voice behind her.

'He will never get off your back with this.' he told her sympathetically.

'Why don't you just fire him?' Brenda sighed. Balin laughed at her irritation.

'He has been a professor at the university forever, he has been there even longer than me. Its all politics, dear.' Balin sighed. 'But you are doing well, keep up the good work.' he blinked at Brenda and walked past Thorin who looked at Brenda with a dark expression.

'Listen, I am sorry that he came here. I didn't think that he would actually visit me at home to discuss work stuff.' Brenda apologised and jumped as Thorin grabbed her arm.

'Does he besiege you?' Thorin asked with a deep and furious tone and send shivers down Brendas spine.

'No, not really.' Brenda murmured. 'And I can take care off myself, thank you very much.'

Thorins worry flattered her, but she also felt irritated by it. She was a grown woman and she needed no man to look out for her. Before she could yank her arm free Thorin moved closer to her and tightened his grip. He did not hurt her, but he kept her close. He was about to say something as Fili and Kili bumped into them as they ran through the flat and pressed Brenda even closer into Thorin. Thorin bit his tongue to not curse loudly about the and the fact that Brenda had her hands on his abdomen burning his skin. While Thorin tried not to push her away Brenda held her breath. Her hands touched hard muscle and she had to fight the urge to move her hands further over the hard abs.

'The bed is ready.' Dwalin yelled from inside of the bedroom and Brenda just wanted to slam her forehead against Thorins chest. Instead she pulled herself out of Thorins arms and cleared her throat. Only seconds later the living room was crowded with their friends.

'Ok, I'm starving. We're done with the flat right?' Dwalin rubbed his hands together.

Only moments later the company sat at Bomburs. Dis had joined them and enjoyed the cozy evening. Especially Dwalins presence seemed to make her feel at ease. Brenda watched the two sharing an appetizer and smiled. She almost missed the news of Arwens latest date.

'Well, how was it, you have to tell me everything!' Lobelia was excited and made Brenda curious.

'Well, we ate alot, we drank alot and he paid alot.' Arwen smirked. 'But thats ok, the Navy pays good money.'

'Your date is in the navy?' Thorin cocked an eyebrow at Arwen.

'Yes, my first sailor.' Arwen smiled widely.

'You gotta be kidding!' Lobelia exclaimed.

'Lobelia, not all of us are classified as a friendly port by the navy.' Brenda scolded her friend, but hugged her to show her that she only teased her. Lobelia only chuckled and hugged her back. Arm in arm they listened to Arwen.

'His name is Aragorn and he is so handome.' Arwen sighed. 'I fell immortaly in love.'

Brenda and Lobelia sighed and Thorin rolled his eyes.

'But we'll never see each other again.' Arwen sighed unhappily.

'What? Why?' Lobelia asked.

'He is married.' Arwen shrugged her shoulders. 'He told me at dinner. At least he was honest at one point.'

'An affair with a married man does nothing for me. The man feels so guilty that he buys the really good gifts for his wife.' Lobelias stated dryly.

'My cousin had an affair with a married woman once. His wife found out and shot him in the ...' Arwen realised that ther were little children at the table. '...boxershorts. After that he kinda lost interest.'

Brenda chuckled and Arwen shrugged her shoulders again. 'I'll manage. Everytime I think I have met Mr. Right I am wrong. Men are scum.'

Thorin and Balin smirked and Dwalin had not payed attention through the whole story. Lobelia was entertaining with her sex stories once Dis and Dwalin had brought the kids to bed. Thorin suddenly felt relieved that he could sleep in his own flat this evening.

'You must be relieved that you have your own home now.' Brenda whispered to Thorin, catching him off guard. 'Although I am confused, what happened to the overprotective big brother?'

'Dwalin is a good man, I just hope my sister doesn't screw up.' Thorin smirked as Brenda shot his a scolding glare.

Meanwhile Lobelia gave Arwen some advice. 'Men are turned on by dirty talk. But the first time you have to be smooth. Like this.' Lobelia turned to Brenda and looked her deep in the eye. 'I feel heat between us, kind of a flame crackling in the wind. I want you to put the flame out. I want you to pluck me like a fruit. Wash me of with your kisses and sink your teeth into my wild juices.'

Arwen watched her friends with an amused expression while Thorin had a hard time keeping his cool. As funny as it was watching Lobelia hit on Brenda for fun, it was also incredibly sexy and Lobelias words made him sweat. He missed what Lobelia whispered in Brendas ears.

'It worked, go for it.'


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we go.....

Brenda was incredibly nervous. She was sure that Thorin felt as attracted to her as she did to him. God knew what he saw in her. But after she had her third glass of wine and felt more bold. As she started to play with a streak of her hair Thorins mouth went dry. He resisted the urge to grab this streak of hair and pull her close, as close as they had been in his flat.

'You need more help with your flat tomorrow, laddie?' Balin asked Thorin as they made ready to leave.

'No, thank you, Balin.' Thorin smiled at the old man and patted his shoulder. Balins knees nearly buckled under Thorins hand. 'And thank you for the help today, old friend.'

'Everyone deserves a home, Thorin.' Balin smiled at Thorin warmly.

'Mister Balin, care to share a cab?' Lobelia grinned widely. She and Arwen had hugged Brenda goodnight and headed out, closely followed by Balin who smiled his goodbye at Brenda who was still talking to Bombur. Thorin waited patiently till Brenda and Bombur walked to the door.

'Have a good night, you two.' Bombur blinked at them and returned to his kitchen.

Brenda took a deep breath of fresh air and stared up to the stars. The night was clear and cold and she felt like walking home.

'Walk or drive?' Thorin asked her, but seeing her dreamy eyes gazing upwards he already knew the answer.

'I would like to walk. But you do not have to bring me home, you can take a cab.' Brenda said quietly and watched Thorin closely. She wanted him to stay with her, but she dared not to say it.

'We will walk, then.' Thorin smirked.

'Your first night in your new flat, are you excited?' Brenda asked cheerfully.

Thorin smiled and thought about his new bed. It was big and soft and he looked forward to use it. He suddenly felt nervous and looked at the woman walking beside him. Brendas long curls covered her face, but Thorin knew that she was waiting for an answer.

'Its a flat like any other.' Thorin answered.

'But it shouldn't be. It should be a home, a place you can retreat to when you need comfort and warmth. A place where you want to be more than anywhere else.' Brenda stated and looked at Thorin expectantly.

'I thought that sort of feeling is related to people. To partners.' Thorin stated dryly and paused as Brenda stopped dead in her tracks.

'What are women to you, Thorin?' there was no judgement in her voice, only curiosity. 'A distraction from a hard day? A temporary relief?'

Thorin looked at her and he almost hated himself for answering honestly. 'Yes. I have met no woman until today who was worth more to me. Except Dis, of course.'

Brenda smiled sadly. She was thankful that Thorin was that honest with her, but his answer also distanced him from her. Brenda would not invest feelings if the chance of a happy relationship was that slim or even impossible. But who had said anything about feelings? She felt every inch of her body long for this man and she did not know how long she could resist this urge. But Brenda was headstrong and she usually did nothing stupid. Until tonight. Brenda still had time to think about what she had planned this evening, it was a nice walk to her -their- home. Brenda had planned to give in to her longing, but she was not sure anymore. She was Dis best friend and sleeping with her brother would only bring trouble. Not only for her, also for Dis. Slowly she continued walking.

'What troubles you, Baggins?' Thorin asked her quietly. The woman had become awfully silent and Thorin felt uneasy all of a sudden.

'Nothing.' Brenda tried to sound at ease but Thorin didn't let go.

'You are always thinking about something. I can practically hear your mind at work.' he smirked lightly. 'Tell me, Baggins.'

'Make me.' Brenda looked at him boldly and stretched her chin forward.

'Maybe I will.' Thorin grinned wickedly at her. 'I learned how to get information out of people.'

'Is that so?' Brenda looked at Thorin closely. 'How?'

'You would not want to know.' Thorin told her honestly and tried not to remember the awful moments of torture himself. This life lay behind him, he was home now.

'Here we are.' Brenda said suddenly. 'Home sweet home.'

Thorin looked up at the old building and decided that he didn't want to wait anymore. He walked up the entrance behind Brenda and trapped her between the door and his body. There was barely enough space left for Brenda to turn around and as she did she brushed his groin with her hips, making Thorin hiss quietly. There was no surprise in her eyes, only the same longing Thorin felt himself. He felt her big brown eyes on him as he slowly lowered his head to brush her lips with his. It was no real kiss, only a soft touch. Brendas lips were slightly parted as Thorin pulled back a bit, only to caress her lips with his tongue. Thorin moved closer to Brenda and his hands pushed up her shirt. Brenda felt the cold nights air on her bare back and belly. But even more intense was the feeling of Thorins fingers on her skin. As they moved forward brushing Brendas side and her belly she moaned quietly and arched her body closer to Thorin.

Her soft moan nearly made Thorin lose control over his actions. Without giving Brenda any time to recover Thorin ravished her mouth as he pressed his lips onto hers and forced her lips open again with his tongue. His hands moved to her neck and back and he pressed her hard against him.

Brenda could not form one straight thought. Thorins beard tickled her face and scratched her chin. Out of reflex Brenda tried to push him away, but her hands laid powerlessly on Thorins broad shoulders. She moved them up over Thorins chest and cupped his face as they deepened the kiss. While one hand rested on Thorins bearded face the other one grabbed his collar and tugged at his shirt desperate for bare skin.

Thorin smiled into the kiss. He was surprised by Brendas passion, but it only fulled his own desire. Somehow they managed to open the door and stumbled into the house, not breaking the kiss. Thorin moved his hands under Brendas bottom and lifted her up, her legs automatically wrapping around his waist. Half way up the stairway Thorin paused and pushed Brenda against the wall, nibbling and biting his way down her neck. Brenda grabbed his mane and pulled him closer, her breath going jerkingly. They made it to Thorins flat without falling back down the stairway, but neither of them wanted to climb another floor. Thorin pressed Brenda against the door with his hips and broke the kiss for a few seconds.

'Hold on.' he told her and let go to search for his keys. Brenda chuckled quietly and held on to his neck and hips. He growled as he could not find his keys and Brenda shifted on his hips to move one of her hands down his pants. Thorin groaned of arousal as Brenda moved her hand into his trouser pocket and pulled out his keys, playfully swinging them in front of his nose. 'Open it.' Thorin told her hoarsely, letting her slide from his hip and turning her around. Brenda felt herself being pressed against the door and felt Thorin push against her from behind. His hands moved over her side and his hips pressed against her bottom. He buried his face in her locks, nuzzling his long nose into her hair. With shivering fingers she unlocked the door and they stumbled into the flat, nearly falling down. Thorin slammed the door shut with his foot and ripped Brendas jacket of her, throwing it behind him, soon followed by his own jacket.

'Can I offer you something? Wine, soda, beer...' Thorin asked between kisses, smirking cheeky.

'Only yourself.' Brenda panted and started working on the buttons of his shirt. All doubts were forgotten, all she wanted right now was him.

Thorin closed his eyes and fought to regain control over his body as Brendas gentle fingers stroke over his abs. Brenda shoved the shirt over his shoulders and trapped his arms in his shirt, nibbling down his neck and chest. Her tongue brushed over his skin in circles, sending shivers down his spine.

'Don't tease me, woman.' Thorin growled and freed himself of his shirt. He grabbed Brenda by her waist and pushed her towards the bedroom. They skipped of their shoes and soon the trail of clothes was extended by Brenda shirt, but unlike her, Thorin passionately ripped it of her body, causing her to protest into their kiss. On the way to his bedroom he slipped out of his pants. Soon, Brenda felt the edge of the bed at the back of her legs. Unerring Thorin pushed her down onto the bed and leaned over her. He pulled off her jeans and slowly spread her legs with his thigh. He could feel her wetness on his skin and gently cupped her breasts in his big hands. Brenda was still wearing her underwear, simple and black bra and hotpants. Thorin gently lifted Brendas back and opened the bra to toss it away. Then he moved down and nibbled his way to her core. Catching her underpants with his teeth he pulled and tugged until it had slipped down her thighs and off her body. As he moved up Brendas body again he felt her toes slip into his boxershorts and by moving upwards he was stripped off his last piece of clothes. both lay together, totally naked, and relished in each other sight. Brenda could not stop stroking over Thorins muscled chest, shoulders and arms. She was fascinated by his masculine and strong body. He was quite hairy, but at the right places. A thick layer of hair covered his chest and a thin line of hair trailed down his belly into the curls surrounding his proud and erect manhood. Suddenly Brenda felt intimidated by Thorins attractivity and covered her bare breasts with crossed arms. Thorin gently grabbed her wrists and pulled her arms over her body, lowering his lips over her nipples. As he began teasing her with his tongue Brenda could not help but gasp at the sensation. One of his big hands held her arms in place while his other hand kneeded her breast and made her moan in pleasure. He nibbled, sucked and licked until Brenda was not able to form a single thought anymore. Thorin slowly licked his way over her perfect belly and bit into the soft flesh, leaving marks. Brendas moaning and mewling nearly drove him mad and her body sprawled under him made him burn for her. As he pushed his hand against the folds between her legs he could feel how wet she had become.

'So wet, so eager. Only for me.' Thorin had always been posessive and especially Brenda had awaken his animalistic instincts. He wanted to have her, now. Brenda was no unexperienced woman and she wanted him. But Thorin did not want to take her quickly, he wanted her to enjoy his hands and lips on her. Even if Thorin never involved many feelings other than lust and passion in his lovemaking he wanted this night to be special. He let his fingers tangle with hers and rubbed his erection against her clit. His long black hair fell over Brendas face like a curtain and he teased her lips with soft brushes of his own lips and tongue. Once in a while their lips met in soft kisses, Brenda being the one who bit and nibbled on Thorins lips, making him hiss delightfully.

'Thorin.' Brenda whispered and looked deep into his eyes, pleading for more.

With one swift move Thorin buried himself inside of Brenda, making her cry out softly. He filled her completely and almost send her over the edge by plunging into her. Brenda let go of his hands and wrapped one arm around his neck, the other hand moved down Thorins upper body, down his side and rested on his waist. Thorin pulled up one of her legs and grabbed her thigh while slowly gliding out of her, just to push back in with a groan. So thight. Thorin needed all his willpower to keep up the pace and rolled his hips, gliding in and out of Brenda in agonizing pace. Brenda felt as if she was trapped in an endless orgasm. Her brain had melted away moments ago and her skin burned like fire. She could not imagine their act getting even more intense. The bed cracked quietly under Thorins thrusts. This noise and Brendas panting were the only things Thorin could hear and it turned him on violently. He buried his face against her neck and began slamming into her in a faster rhythum. Brenda wrapped her legs around his waist tightly and digged her nails into his back, meeting his thrusts. Her moans grew louder with everyone of Thorins thrusts and soon she was screaming out her passion as her orgasm hit her with a mindblowing force. Her inner muscles clenched around him and send him over the egde with full force. With an animalistic growl Thorin shot his seed deep into the woman sprawling underneath him and rode out his orgasm until he collapsed. He rolled down of Brenda to not crush her under his weight and both lay on their backs side by side, not touching, panting heavily and staring at the ceiling.

After a while Brenda wanted to cover up her nakedness, much to Thorins disappointment. Her soft curves glistened in her sweat and Thorin could not help but stare at her body. As she pulled up the blanket Thorin stopped her by grabbing her hand.

'Don't.' he rolled onto his side and kissed her hand. 'I want to look at you.'

Brenda smiled at him, not believing what she heard. But she began to freeze and started shaking lightly. Thorin saw the goosebumps on her skin and moved closer, taking her into his arms, warming her with his body. His fingers trailed over her form while they lay close and Brenda was wide awake. She was uncertain wether to stay or to leave. She wanted to stay, but she knew that this had been nothing but sex to Thorin and usually sex partners did not stay overnight. Did they? Brenda had no idea, she had never done that before. Well, she had had sex before, but not without having a relationship with the man. This situation was new to Brenda and she did not know how to react on it. As she wanted to move she realised that Thorin had chosen for her. He had wrapped his arms around her tightly and had fallen asleep. Brenda was not able to move without waking him up. Sighing deeply Brenda cuddled up in his arms and closed her eyes, feeling warm and safe in the arms of the man she barely knew.

Thorin woke up the next morning because the sun was shining into his face. He had forgotten to close the curtains the night before. Suddenly he remembered why and looked down onto his bed. Brenda was still asleep, with her back turned to him. The sheets covered her waist and parts of her legs and her back was covered by a massive wave of brown curls. After closing the drappes Thorin sat back down on his bed slowly, to not wake up the sleeping woman. Leaning onto his elbow he looked at her sleeping form, remembering the last night. He got hard just thinking about it and could not resist the urge to slide closer to Brenda, grabbing her waist and pulling her closer towards him. Thorin started kissing and nibbling his way down her shoulders, towards her neck, making her moan quietly in her sleep. But Brenda did not wake up under his hands and Thorin smirked as his hand wandered deeper down her sleeping form, caressing her tummy and moved further down her thighs. As he reached her core he could feel that she was either still wet from their nightly activities or that she reacted to his attention. He slowly pushed a finger inside of her, pulling her close at the same time. Her bottom was pressed against his erection which was throbbing painfully by now. This finally woke her up and Thorin did not lose any time with words, he began moving his finger inside of her making her mewl quietly.

Brenda woke up with the same intense feeling she had felt the night before. She realised that she was still in Thorins bed as she felt his hands moving over her body sending shivers up and down her spine. As he entered her she could not fight a quiet moan and as she felt her bottom being pressed against his hardness she smiled into the pillow. What a way to wake somebody up in the morning. She cupped his hand covering her folds with her own hand, holding him steady and started moving to his strokes. As Thorin started to nibble at her ear she let out a gasp, arching her back and relishing the feeling of his tongue on her skin. Thorin pulled back his hand which was causing her such pleasure and shifted their positions so that he could enter her from behind. Brenda felt him slide into her from behind, feeling him brush the bundle of nervs inside of her while penetrating her. Soon, after he had thrust into her up to the hilt Thorin started moving and supported her rolling hips with his hand. Brenda pressed her head against Thorins face and felt him nuzzling her hair with his long nose. His aroused pants filled her ears and she could not help but mewl and moan to his thrusts which entered her in a very delicate angle.

Thorin could feel her nails scrape over his lower arms as she reached her orgasm and needed only a few thrusts himself to reach completion.

'Good morning.' he mumbled into her ear and made her smile.

'Good morning.' Brenda leaned back into his chest. 'What an interesting way to wake someone up. Very effective.'

Thorin chuckled and pulled out of her to turn her around. As Brenda faced him he could clearly see the doubt in her eyes.

'Do you regret the last night? Or this morning?' Thorin asked carefully.

Brenda did need a few seconds to think about it. 'No. I do not. I do not regret anything. I knew what I was doing.'

'What were you doing?' Thorin smirked and wondered if Brenda really could isolate the sex from a relationship.

'I had great sex with my friends brother. No more, no less.' Brenda winced at the sound of it. 'I am a grown woman, Thorin, and not as naive as many might think.'

Thorin nodded and realise that his fingers were still tangled with hers. 'Do you want coffee?'

Brenda thought about it, but she had spent too much time in his apartment already. 'No, thank you. I should leave.'

She wrapped herself into the sheets as she stood up, hearing a amused gasp behind her. As she turned around she saw Thorin lay butt naked in his bed, deprived of any sheet to cover himself with.

'What?' she had to smirk.

'No need to cover up, Baggins.' Thorin stated teasingly and leaned onto his elbow to get a closer look at Brenda.

'I will not run around naked your flat searching for my clothes.' Brenda chuckled. As she found her shirt she sighed. Most of the buttons were torn off and there was a big rift at the back of the shirt. Smiling she grabbed for Thorins shirt.

'Hey! Thats my shirt!' Thorin called out from the bed with an amused expression.

'You ripped mine, its only fair that I get your shirt to get back to my flat. Thank goodness its just one floor.' Brenda slowly closed the buttons of Thorins shirt over her naked body and smiled sheepishly at him.

'Who gave you permission to dress again?' Thorin had lunged out of the bed and grabbed her tight, pulling Brenda against his chest, her hands trapped between their bodies. 'You are in my flat, Baggins. And I will decide when you will leave it.'

Brenda felt torn between arousal and protest. His dominant attitude was attractive, but she still felt insulted by it.

'I am free to do what I want.' she merely stated and tried to losen Thorins grip on her.

'Oh yeah?' Thorin took her chin into his hand and made her look up to him. 'You can try to leave.'

And Brenda tried. Halfheartedly.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thorin gets confronted with a feeling new to him....love. Can Dis prevent him from doing something stupid? See chapter 6 and following......;)

In the end Thorin and Brenda had managed to move from the bed to the couch. They spend the morning kissing and snuggling and soon Brendas lips felt like fire. She was straddling Thorin who moved his hands over her body, which was still wrapped in his shirt.

'Thorin...' Brenda mumbled between the kisses. 'I really...need...to go...need to correct papers...university...'

Thorin only grumbled into the kiss and switched places with Brenda, pinning her down onto the couch. Brendas protest was chocked with a passionate kiss.

'Just give them all a B.' Thorin proposed and made her chuckle.

'What about you? Didn't you want to help Dis at the café?' Brenda grinned as Thorin growled against her skin. 'Or do you think that Dwalin might help her today?'

Thorin jumped up at her words, he had forgotten that her sister had left with his friend yesterday night. He needed to know what had happened.

'Dress up, Baggins. We're going for coffee!' he called out and made Brenda laugh. She rushed up to her flat and quickly jumped under the shower and brushed her teeth. Brenda had just finished dressing as she heard a knock on her door. As she opened Thorin stood before it glancing at her with an amused expression.

'Are you dressing up for church? Come on, hurry!' he rushed her.

Brenda grinned at him and but on her simple brown boots. 'You did not have to wait for me, you know.'

'Nonsense, Baggins. Come.' Thorin grabbed her hand and pulled her out of her flat. Brenda slammed her door shut and followed Thorin down the stairs and out onto the street. She noticed that he did not let go of her hand, but did not complain.

After a few moment they had reached Dis café. Dwalin was sitting at the counter, leaning over to Dis, kissing her over the counter.

'Whoa! Are you kidding?' Thorin grinned at his sister who pulled back from the kiss instantly.

'Awww... you two are so cute!' Brenda smiled at Dwalin sweetly and went to hug Dis.

'Thanks, very helpful.' Thorin stated dryly but patted his old friend on the shoulder. 'I am glad that Dis has found someone.'

The two women were not listening, they had already sunk deep into a whispering conversation.

'Good God, they are talking about me, aren't they?' Thorin had never thought that he would see Dwalin blush one day.

'I'd rather say us.' Thorin stated and waited for the news to kick in.

'Us? Why us? What did you do?' Dwalin was slow, but he was watching the two women giggling and chatting. 'Wait a minute...you and...her?'

Dwalin pointed at Brenda and began grinning from one ear to the other. In this moment the door opened and Arwen and Lobelia came in, making Dwalin pale.

'Oh Sweet Jesus, now all of them will know how we look like naked.' Dwalin exclaimed and Thorin nearly choked on his coffee.

'Sorry, we're late.' Lobelia grinned widely. 'But my room mate and I had a little fight today. She ironed my shirt with the buttons closed and now the buttons are melted together and I can't open it ever again!'

'A dark day in the history of mankind.' Brenda stated sarcastically.

'Don't worry, there aren't much customers here today and Brenda has just arrived, too.' Dis told Lobelia and earned a surprised look.

'Its almost lunchtime, since when do you sleep that long? How often have you rambled about desperatly needing one if not two breakfasts?' Lobelia cocked her eyebrows at Brenda who had become sheepishly silent. 'Brenda Belladonna Baggins, don't tell me you got lucky last night?'

'Shhhhhhhh! For heavens sake, Lobelia!' Brenda sunk deep into her armchair of embarassment. 'Can you yell louder I think the guys at the bar haven't heard you yet!'

'Yeah we have, Teach!' Dwalin called over and Brenda covered her eyes with her hand.

'Don't tell me its Dwalin!' Lobelia asked Brenda in disbelief.

'Nope, then I'd have to date twice, him and his hair. Ouch!' Brenda chuckled as Dis slapped her.

'Thorin, then?' Lobelia smiled dreamingly. 'He is a good kisser isn't he?'

Brendas smile faded instantly. She had forgotten that Thorin had almost gotten Lobelia into his bed if it would not have been for Dis sons who had disturbed them.

'What? Don't tell me its something serious between you two?' Lobelia asked innocently. 'Why the sad face, Brenda?'

'Its nothing serious, Lobelia, don't worry.' Brenda brushed away the slight pang that Lobelias words had released in her heart.

Many days later Brenda came into Dis café after an awful day at work. She had gotten into a fight with Thranduil and he had threatened to make her work at the university miserable. And as if the day had not been awful enough it had started raining and Brenda was soaken wet, again. She missed Italy. Not one cloud had been in the sky the week she had been there. Dis was not standing behind the counter as Brenda entered the café, so she sat down in the huge armchair by the fireplace. She stared into the fire and didn't notice someone placing a huge cup of hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows in front of her.

'Bad day, Teach?' a deep voice made her jump. As she looked up she looked into Dwalins grinning face.

'The worst. Where's your hair?' Brenda snarled.

'Up in the apartment with Dis.' Dwalin smirked.

'Ewwwww!' Brenda cringed her nose but could not help but smirk, too.

'Wanna tell me what happened?' Dwalin sat down on the small table in front of Brenda.

'No.' Brenda was not in the mood to talk to anyone but Dis, but her friend was bringing her sons to bed in this very moment.

'Alright, Teach, if you change your mind you know where to find me.' Dwalin blinked at her and left for the counter. Thorin came down from Dis home and immediately saw Brenda sitting by the fire. 'Your little friend is in a very bad mood today, Thorin.' Dwalin informed him.

Thorin watched Brenda closely. Her hair was soaken wet and clung to her head and neck in wet curly streaks. She had cuddled up into the chair and stared into the flames, barely blinking. She was in a whole other place. He just wanted to go over and talk to her as another customer asked for the check. As Thorin turned around again Brenda was gone.

Brenda had taken a hot and relaxing bubblebath and walked through the living room wrapped into a white towel. She had also opened a bottle of white wine and sipped it while looking out of the window into the clear sky. She hated her job at the university, she just hated it. But she had no idea what else to do. Her parents had left her with a huge amount of money after their death and Brenda would not need to worry about financial issues. Brenda was not a person who could spend the day doing nothing.

The doorbell rang and Brenda sighed deeply. Not one moment of piece was given to her. She opened the door and looked into Thorins amused face.

'You should not open the door without asking who it is first.' Thorin stated dryly and smirked at Brenda. But the young professor was not in the mood for teasing.

'Fine.' Brenda muttered and slammed the door shut. Thorin laughed quietly before knocking again.

'Who is it?' he heard Brenda snarl from inside.

'Its Thorin, from downstairs.' Thorin grinned as Brenda opened the door again. 'I love your outfit.'

Brenda looked down at herself and realised that she had forgotten that she was practically naked. But she was to tired to worry about it.

'You've seen me naked already, the view should be nothing new.' she murmured and gestured him to enter.

'Hmmmmm, which leads me right to the purpose of my visit.' Thorin smirked and grabbed Brenda by the waist, pulling her close.

'Thorin...don't.' Brenda protested weakly, but she already felt her body respond to his attention. Thorin sucked at the soft skin under her ear and made her shiver.

'You were saying?' he whispered into her ear and sucked on her earlobe, making her moan quietly. 'Tell me, what do you want, Brenda?'

'I want you to make me forget this dreadful day, Thorin.' Brenda murmured. 'Make me forget.'

Thorin growled deeply and lifted her up, pressing her against the narrow part of the wall beside the window. With one powerful rip he got rid of the towel covering her and let Brenda free him from his jacket. He could feel her eager hands working on his pants and captured her lips in a mindblowing kiss. Thorin longed for Brenda with every inch of his body and he had thought about her all week if he allowed himself to. He wanted her badly and he knew that she wanted him, too.

'Thorin, please...' Brenda needed the diversion, she needed his strong arms and his skin on hers. This time she did not open his shirt button by button, this time she did it Thorins way and ripped it open, sendind buttons flying through her apartment. Thorin smirked into the kiss and positioned himself at her entrance to slam into her wet and waiting folds with a powerful thrust. He started moving with a punishing pace and Brenda clung to his broad shoulders for dear life. She wrapped her legs around his waist and met his thrust by arching her hips. Thorin began kissing his way down her jaw and her neck and Brendas hand moved over his chest sending hot flashes through his body. They were both close and Thorin started slamming Brenda against the wall with everyone of his thrusts. Brenda cried out as he hit the sensitive bundle of nerves inside of her and chocked her passionate scream by biting Thorins shoulder as she came. The slight pain only drove Thorin over the edge faster and soon, both were laying on the floor of Brendas flat, panting heavily.

'This time you ripped my shirt.' Thorin didn't believe that he was thinking about such a thing right now.

'You want one of mine?' Brenda asked amused and made them both laugh. 'Thank you, Thorin.'

Thorin looked at her with a questioning expression. 'For what?'

'For being there for me and for taking my mind off things.' Brenda looked at him with a satisfied smile and her curls fell over her face as she leaned over to kiss him. 'I could get used to this.'

Thorin chuckled quietly and leaned on his elbow to meet her in a passionate kiss. They nearly spent the night on the floor of Brendas flat, if Brenda would not have insisted on getting some sleep before she had to face her hated collegue at work the next day. Thorin and Brenda parted with a kiss, promising more to come soon.

The next day everyone became witness to Thranduils rude behavior. He actually followed Brenda right to Dis café and made her a scene.

'You would make a far better teacher if you would not spend your nights in the arms of some maniac, who screws your brains out.' Thranduil snarled and made Brenda stare at him in disbelief. 'Don't even try to deny it, I saw him pushing you against your window, like an animal in heat!'

'What were you doing staring at my apartment at that time?!' Brenda was furious.

'I came to apologise for my behaviour, but you were obviously busy.' Thranduil snarled making Brenda pale.

'Hold my hair, I'm gonna kill him!' Dwalin had heard every word and would have stormed out from behind the counter if Dis would not have prevented him.

'Get Thorin, he is upstairs with the boys.' Dis asked him and hoped that it was a good idea. Soon Thorin stormed down, his eyes gleaming in fury. He grabbed Thranduil by the collar and pulled him close.

'I will break every bone in your body if you dare to return and threaten my family ever again.' he growled so that only Thranduil could hear and pushed him out of the door. Thranduil only stared at him and grinded his teeth before he left fuming of rage.

Thorins stare followed him until he realised what he had just said. His family. But Brenda was not his family. Thorin turned around and saw Brenda sit on the huge couch surrounded by Dis, Dwalin, Fili and Kili. His nephews had cuddled up beside her and Kili even made her smile again.

'I will call my brother, he will now what to do about this.' Dwalin grumbled and Brenda smiled at him thankfully.

Thorin wanted to comfort her, but Dis grabbed his arm and pulled him away.

'This man has caused us enough pain and grief, when will it stop? Now he even harasses the ones close to us.' Dis voice was thick with tears.

Thorin took his sister in his arms and tried to give her the comfort of an older brother. He had been away long enough. In this moment he knew what he had to do. He would stay with his family, forever. The time for adventures was over.

'I need to tend to my customers.' Dis smiled at Thorin and was back to being the strong little sister. 'Do me a favor and look after Brenda for a sec, alright?'

Thorin nodded and kissed his little sister on the forehead before turning to Brenda.

'Boys, help your mother.' Thorin smiled at his nephews who rushed to Dis. Kili stopped in his tracks and looked up to his uncle.

'Make aunt Brenda fell better, please.' he asked his uncle and followed his brother.

Brenda closed her eyes and smiled at his words. Thank goodness the little boy did not know how his uncle usually made her feel better. As she opened her eyes again Thorin had sat down beside her.

'What has Thranduil done to you and your family?' she asked and saw his surprised face. 'You and Dis both have the same hatred in your eyes when you look at him. I do not want to inflict even more pain and you and Dis by luring him here with my presence.'

Thorin fought the urge to cup her face with his hands. Her warm and big heart touched him and he sighed as he took her hand into his.

'Many years ago a fire broke out in my parents house at night. It was the house beside Thranduils home. He did not call the firefighters until the flames threatened to break over to his own house. My grandfather and my parents died in the fire because the firedepartment came too late.' Thorin told Brenda and tried not to remember his sisters pain as she called him and pleaded him to come back. He had been deployed to a mission and was not even able to come to the funeral. Dis had understood, but Thorin had been plagued of guilt.

Brenda pulled Thorin back into the present as she touched his arm and moved her hand over his shoulder up to his face. 'I am so sorry. And I brought all this pain right back to you.'

'No. You brought us back hope. You were a friend to my sister when she needed her family.' Thorin told her softly.

Their closeness was interrupted by Frerin who came rushing into the café together with Balin.

'Where is that blonde barbie of a professor?' Frerin was furious, it was the first time Brenda had ever seen him like this. Before he had always been the easygoing and cheerful Durin, but now she could see the same fury in his eyes that Thorin had shown as he had met Thranduil.

'Professor Baggins, are you alright?' Balin asked Brenda with a worried expression. 'I am so sorry, I heard what happened.'

Brenda smiled at her Headmaster and sighed. 'I am afraid that there is nothing that you can do about it anymore.'

'What do you mean?' Balin looked at her with a frown.

Usually Brenda was nobody who decided spontaneously or even out of her stomach. But this time the feeling was right and Brenda felt brave all of a sudden.

'I will give you my written notice tomorrow.' Brenda stated firmly and felt relieved the moment she had said it.

Balin was not at all surprised. 'You never felt happy with this job, I cannot say that I am surprised. Do you know what to do next? I have a friend who works in the state libary. His name is Ori, I can give him a call and ask him if he has a job for you.'

'Thats very kind of you, sir, but I think that I will need a while to think about what I want.' Brenda felt hope at his words. She would ask Dis if she could help out at the café for the time being to not die of boredom.

'I could need a new secretary.' Frerin grinned at Brenda insinuatuingly.

'You wish, Durin.' Brenda grumbled and gave him a nudge. She walked back to Thorin and saw him grin. 'What?'

'Nothing. Its just weird seeing my brother hit on you.' Thorin smirked at her and took her hand without Frerin seing it.

'Well, maybe you should tell him to stop.' Brenda cocked an eyebrow at him. 'Or don't you care?'

'You're asking me if I would care if my brother hits on you?' Thorin frowned playfully. 'You really think that I am a brute do you?'

Brenda chuckled. 'No. I just now that you are not interested in women for more than...you know.'

'Sex?' Thorin helped her and grinned at her blushing cheeks.

'What is sex, uncle?' Kili had sneaked up behind the couch and had listened to their conversation. Thorin and Brenda looked at him in shock.

'He said six, Kili, six!' Brenda stammered, looking at Thorin for help.

'Six what?' Kili asked furthermore.

'Uhmmmm...the six...uhmmmm...' Brenda seriously had no idea.

'The six traits of the perfect woman.' Thorin told his nephew with a stern expression.

'And those are?' Kili looked at him with big eyes. Brenda also looked at Thorin questioningly.

'Well, the perfect woman should be beautiful, with a big heart, a beautiful mind, honorably, loyal and honest.' Thorin looked at Brenda while he was talking and Brenda felt her heart missing a few beats.

'Are there such women, uncle?' Kili asked sheepishly and in this moment Frerin joined them on the couch.

'Nope, there are no such women, my little nephew. At least I haven't been lucky enough in ever meeting one.' Frerin chuckled and tousled Kilis hair.

You do not deserve her. Thorin could not help but think as he watched Frerin grin at Brenda. But at the same time Thorin doubted that any man would be good enough for Brenda. Inclusing himself.

Later that evening Brenda talked to Dis and Dis was delighted to hear that Brenda would help her out in the café.

'Now I have two people I love around me every day!' Dis grinned. 'Beside my sons of course.'

'Thank you, Dis.' Brenda stated warmly. 'It means alot to me that you give me a place to work.'

'You have been there for me when I needed someone. And you don't want to get paid. I would be stupid to decline your offer.' Dis blinked at her friend and laid an arm around Brenda. 'Is it ok for you to work with my brother every day? You know, now that you...you know.'

'Have sex?' Brenda smirked and jumped as Filis head popped up from behind the counter.

'Whats sex, aunt Brenda?' he asked curiously.

Brenda only slammed her forehead onto the counter.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Love, love, love......

After Brenda had left Dis walked over to Thorin and sat down beside her brother on the couch.

'You really like her, do you?' she asked smiling widely.

Thorin frowned as Dis had expected and grumbled an answer into his beard.

'Then you should know that its her birthday on Sunday.' Dis smirked and watched as her brother looked at her in shock.

'And you are telling me this now?' Thorin nearly jumped off the couch.

Dis only grinned at her big brother. 'Why are you so nervous all of a sudden? My boys and I will throw her a birthday party, you can come. Or even better, you could keep her away from the café long enough for us to prepare the party.'

Thorin stared at his grinning sister and sat down again. 'And how am I supposed to do this?'

'You're an intelligent, handsome man, you'll manage.' Dis chuckled and patted her brothers shoulder before she left.

Thorin sighed heavily and walked over to Frerin who was enjoying a beer at the fireplace.

'Girltrouble, brother?' Frerin laughed about his own joke, but as he saw Thorin frown he nearly chocked on his beer. 'Please, be kidding me!'

Thorin took the beer out of Frerins hand and took a deep gulp before he started speaking. 'I never thought that would happen to me.'

'That what would happen to you?' Frerin asked carefully. 'Who is the mysterious woman anyway? Do I know her?'

'I ...like her. I barely know her, but I can't stop thinking about her. I just can't believe this happened to me.' Thorin was turned speechless by his own feelings.

'Whatever you do now, brother. Don't screw it up.' Frerin smirked at his older brother. At Thorins frown he continued. 'You tend to push back people who come near you. You become a total arse and repell everyone, but your family, who loves you for who you are. Now - who is it?'

Thorin looked at his brother and suddenly realised that he had the same puppy eyes as Kili. Darn puppy eyes.

'Guess.' he told Frerin who immediately started to do so.

'Ok, it must be a woman who just recently met.' Frerin mused. 'That would narrow it down to two, Brendas friends Lobelia and Arwen. Since Arwen is a little cold and not much your type, it must be Lobelia! Right?'

'Guess again, brother.' Thorin smirked. Lobelia had not given one thought about their kiss and had continued dating, much to Thorins relief.

'One of Dis female customers?' Frerin was seriouly stuck. 'Oh come one, Thorin! You have to tell me!'

'Uncle Thorin has six with Brenda!' Kili yelled out of nowhere and came rushing to his uncles. 'She is the perfect woman, right?'

Frerin looked from Kili to Thorin, who could only smirk about his nephews timing and choice of words. Thorin then looked back at Frerin who was staring at him with an open mouth.

'You and Brenda? Brenda Baggins? Brenda Shyness Baggins? No way!' Frerin was shocked, but he still had his humor. 'How could she go out with you when she has never shown any interest in me?' he grinned. 'And was does Kili mean by six?'

Thorin felt a headache build up in his skull and sighed heavily. Before he could answer his brother, Kili stepped in again.

'Uncle Thorin has described the six traits of the perfect woman and Brenda has them all! Hasn't she, uncle?' Kili grinned at Thorin who sunk into his seat. He would get an earfull from Frerin now.

'He has? Well thats interesting.' Frerin smirked and leaned down towards Kili. 'Now of to bed, you nosy little man. Your brother should be already sleeping.'

As Kili rushed up to go to bed Frerin turned towards Thorin and grinned. 'So? Brenda, ey? You do now that I saw her first?'

At Thorins dark glare he laughed and threw his hands up in defeat.

As Brenda came into the café on Saturday morning she felt happy and at ease for the first time in ages. Dis was already brewing the first coffee and baking her delicious cakes and cookies. It had been a long time since the two friends had been together alone and they took the chance to catch up.

'You and Dwalin, you two make an interesting couple.' Brenda smiled.

'Not half as interesting as you and Thorin.' Dis grinned and gestured Brenda to set up the cups and plates on the counter. 'How did that happen?'

'I have no idea, really.' Brenda could not help but smile. 'It just happened.'

'But you do know that Thorin is a ladiesman, no man for a relationship?' Dis asked carefully.

'I know that. And we are not in a relationship, its nothing serious.' Brenda tried to keep confident tone and hoped that Dis would not notice the slight shiver in her voice. 'What about Dwalin? He seems...nice.'

'He is great! I can't believe that we have known each other for so long and actually fell in love!' Dis smiled dreamily. 'What do you think of him?'

'Regardless what I think of him, if he makes you happy then thats wonderful.' Brenda chuckled and hugged her friend. 'I am really happy for you.'

The two women sat together till the first customers arrived.

'By the way, you need to tell me what to do exactly and when to come to work.' Brenda reminded Dis who nodded.

'Mondays to fridays I will come here early and prepare the cakes and cookies, they are always fresh. Brewing the first batch of coffee also takes a while, but that happens at the side. While I work here, Thorin brings the boys to school. In the afternoon I'll get the boys and Thorin stays here in the café. I would be happy if you could help him out, most customers come here after work and it gets quite crowded.' Dis told Brenda.

'Alright, so during the week starting in the afternoon. What about the weekends?' Brenda asked. 'You could spend some time with your boys and Thorin and I will see to it that the café does not fall apart. I can bake, too, you can take some time off at the weekends.'

'Oh that sounds wonderful!' Dis sighed. 'I haven't had any time for myself or my boys in ages!'

'Its settled, then?' Brenda grinned. 'Now...tell me how you make this delicious chocolate cheese cake...'

Thorin woke up in a bad mood. He had not slept well that night, thinking about what he could do to surprise Brenda for her birthday. He would be at the party Dis and his nephews would throw for Brenda, but he had no idea what to get her for a present. He really had no clue. What worried him even more was that he actually worried about a present. He didn't want to get her the usual, flowers, candy or even jewelry. He had never seen her wear any jewelry before and to his surprise he liked it. Then he suddenly had an idea, but if he would go through with this he would have to make a big step. A commitment.

Later that day he remembered that he had promised Dis to keep Brenda distracted and tried to think of a smooth way of keeping her away from the café. He thought about asking her out, but before he could actually form a plan he heard a knock on his door.

As he opened he was surprised to see Brenda standing there. She seemed troubled and her hands were dirty and covered with scratches.

'Hi. Am I interrupting?' Brenda asked quietly as she saw his surprised face.

'No. Not at all, come in.' Thorin offered her and Brenda stept in shyly. 'What can I do for you? Thorin Durin, at your service.'

Brenda chuckled quietly and smiled sheepishly. 'There is something wrong with my water system. I get no warm water anywhere, not in the bathroom, nor the kitchen. Could you maybe...take a look at it?'

Thorin chuckled. 'It seems that you already tried to look for the problem yourself?' he grabbed his keys and followed Brenda up to her flat. He suddenly realised that he had not paid attention to how her flat looked like the last time and was curious to get to know how she was living.

'I tried, but to be perfectly honest, I have no idea what I have to do.' Brenda walked into her flat and gestured Thorin to enter. The flat was indeed smaller than his, but it was incredibly cozy. On the right side of the entrance was an open white country house style kitchen with a gas oven and a huge fridge. The rest of the room was the living room. A big couch with countless pillows stood in the centre of the room and Thorin saw the white soft carpet on which they had collapsed after their lovemaking the last time. There were many shelves with countless books all around and on the wall to the bedroom stood a big screen Tv.

'The bathroom is over there.' Brenda led Thorin through the bedroom into the bathroom. Thorin managed to get a look at her huge bed, much too big for such a small lady, he thought. Bedroom was held in white and light grey and it was very tidy.

'It doesn't always look like this, I just cleaned up.' Brenda smirked as she saw Thorins face. 'Here it is, I think its that pipe over there that makes the trouble.' She pointed to a pipe at the ceiling of her bathroom.

Thorin grinned and took a closer look at it. 'How did you even get up here?' he asked laughing quietly.

'I stood on a chair.' Brenda answered with a playfully insulted tone. 'Can you fix it?'

'I think I can.' Thorin stated and started working on the water system. 'You can go and ...do stuff.'

'You don't want me to watch?' Brenda grinned and cocked an eyebrow at Thorin.

'Nope, now get out.' Thorin grumbled and smiled as Brenda slipped out of the bathroom with a cheeky grin.

After a while Thorin grew hungry and the delicious smells coming from the kitchen did not help. He was finished with the pipe and tested the water. Satisfied he felt warm water run over his hand again and walked into the living room. Brenda had turned on the Tv and had BBC running. There had been suicide bombings in Iraq again and the news were showing the burned out cars and buildings of a city Thorin had been to various times already. Thorin could not tear his gaze away from the horrible pictures and jumped as he felt a hand on his shoulder.

'Shall I turn it off?' Brenda looked at him with a worried expression on her face. 'I am so sorry, I should have known that it probably brings back memories.'

She took the remote to turn of the Tv as Thorin grabbed her wrist and stopped her. 'No need to turn it off, Brenda. I am fine.' he reassured her.

'You don't look fine.' Brenda murmured. They stood there for a while, looking at each other as Thorin turned away first.

'I am finished and mylady has warm water again.' he stated proudly and Brenda rushed to the sink to try it out.

'Thank you so much! I was already afraid that I would have to take a cold shower today.' Brenda grinned. 'I hate cold water.'

'We could try out the shower right away, I could use one.' Thorin smirked and sneaked up behind Brenda, wrapping her arms around her from behind. He had not planned this, but it felt natural and right. Brenda turned around in his arms and looked up to him.

'Right now? Whats with lunch?' she asked shyly.

'Shower first.' Thorin managed to say before he crushed his lips onto hers and pulling her close. Brendas protest was only a choked moan and soon Thorin could feel her hands moving over his shoulders up to his neck. He was glad that they both only wore t-shirts this time, so that they could get rid of their clothes without ripping anything open. Stumbling towards the bathroom they undressed, only breaking the kiss if really necessary. They made it down to their underwear before Thorin turned on the water and a cold jet of water hit them with full force. Brenda cried out and growled quietly.

'What did I say about cold water?' she asked playfully and switched places with Thorin to shield herself from the jet. Thorin only grinned and rid her from her underwear, feeling thankful for the water cooling him down a little. He wanted her so much that it almost scared him. But Brenda had other plans. With a cheeky grin she kneeled down in front of Thorin and pulled down his shorts, revealing his throbbing manhood. Thorins knees almost buckled as Brenda softly sucked at the tip and then slowly licked down his length, her tongue teasing and brushing over him. One hand laid on Thorins thigh and the other gently caressed his testicles. As Thorin tought he would not stand anymore teasing she swiftly took him into her mouth, all the way in, carefully not to gag. Thorins head fell backwards against the cold tiles and he could not fight an aroused groan. He grabbed Brendas hair, leading her head in a slow rhythm. Brenda slowly pulled away only to push her lips over his length again, this time moaning quietly. Thorin could not hear her moan through the water, but he could feel the vibration around his stone hard member. His grip on her hair tightened the closer he came to his release. But he did not want to finish without her. Thorin reluctantly pulled away from Brendas hot mouth and lifted her up against the tiles, pushing into her at the same time. Placing one of her legs over his arm Thorin started pounding into her, making her moan with everyone of his thrusts.

'Gods, Thorin, you're driving me insane...' Brenda whispered and closed her eyes in delight. Thorins weight pushed her into the tiles frequently and the sensation of the cold tiles on her back and Thorins hot skin on her front made Brenda shiver uncontrollably. Thorin could feel that she was close, her muscles tensed around him and her breath came erratically. The bathroom was filled with humid mist by now and the sight of the water running down Brendas face and skin made Thorin breath heavily. He leaned into her and buried his face in the nape of her neck as he felt his orgsam hit him in waves, crushing him over the edge. He rode it out until he felt Brenda clench around him tightly and heard her gasp as the sensation of her climax crushed through her body. Thorin let her down gently, but Brendas legs felt like jelly and she had to hang on to Thorins arms to stand up straight. Suddenly the warm water made Thorin feel to hot. He turned off the water, lifted Brenda up bridal style and walked out of the bathroom.

Brenda let out a quiet shriek as Thorin catapulted her onto her bed and lunged in right after her. They were both still soaking wet and Brenda quickly covered herself with her sheet, making Thorin frown.

'What? I am cold.' Brenda grinned and grabbed the sheet as Thorin wanted to pull it away. Then Thorin did something Brenda would have never expected. He just lay down beside her and cuddled up against her. His head rested on her belly and his arm wrapped around her waist. Brenda smiled and moved her hands into his wet hair, playing with the curls. Stroking his hair Brenda nearly fell asleep as she remembered that there was food in the kitchen, still waiting for them.

'Thorin?' she whispered.

'Hmmmm?' Thorin sounded as if he was already half asleep.

'I´m hungry.' Brenda grinned as Thorin lifted his head and cocked an eyebrow at her.

'Insatiable woman.' Thorin smirked and hurled himself out of the bed. 'You stay right there, I´ll get you something to eat…what the…..?'

Brenda chuckled quietly. She had made little quiches and they were still in the oven, they were probably little pieces of coal by now.

'I suggest we order take out?' Thorin asked her dryly and made her laugh.

A knock on the door made them freeze in motion.

'If this is Barbie Wood again I´m gonna…..' Thorin stormed to the door, naked as he was and Brenda could hear an amused cry.

'OH, Thorin, seriously! You are my brother, but please, don´t ever do that again!' Brenda recognized Frerins voice. 'Why am I not surprised to find you here?'

So Thorin has told him. Brenda smiled and quickly got dressed. She put on her jogging pants and her t-shirt and walked to the door. Thorin was still standing in front of it, butt naked and Frerin was covering his eyes. Brenda chuckled and gave Thorin a towel to at least cover his waist.

'Frerin? What are you doing here?' she asked amused.

'Are you dressed? Wait – if not I don´t care – Ouch!' Thorin had given Frerin a playful nudge to the head. 'I actually came to ask Thorin if she could watch the Rugby match together, but I guess he has better plans.'

Frerin grinned at Thorin who remembered that he and his brother had really talked about having a guys evening today, watching rugby and drinking beer. He looked at Brenda with an apologizing look.

'Do me a favor, brother, and wait for a minute, alright?' Thorin asked Frerin and shut the door before Frerin could even answer.

'You want to let him wait out there?' Brenda chuckled. 'That's not nice. But it would be even worse to ruin his planned evening with you.'

Thorin sighed deeply. He had promised Frerin to watch the game and to catch up on each others lives, but at the moment all he wanted to do was to spend time with Brenda.

'Is there nothing in need of repair in your flat anymore?' Thorin asked and made Brenda laugh quietly.

'Nope. All is good.' Brenda moved her hands over Thorins chest to his face. 'Thank you for the help and the….uhmmm…testing of the warm water.'

Thorin leaned into her touch and growled quietly. 'Keep that up, woman, and Frerin is going to wait outside for another round.'

Brenda bit her lower lip and smiled at his words. She could not get enough of him, but she also did not want to keep him from a guys evening with Frerin.

'You can come up afterwards.' Brenda offered and her heart skipped a beat as she saw Thorins hopeful expression. 'I´ll be busy the whole day, making little somethings for Dis café. She was thinking about offering a little bit more food, quiches, and sandwiches and stuff. I´m gonna try out a few things and will try not to burn them to coal again.'

'Alright, I´d love to.' Thorin pulled her close for a kiss.

'Hello?!' Frerin yelled from the other side of the door. 'I am still here!'

Thorin reluctantly pulled away from Brenda and collected his clothes on the way to the bathroom. Brenda opened the door to let an amused Frerin enter.

'Please, come in. Would you like something to drink?' she asked politely.

'No thanks, Baggins. What is that smell? Did you burn something in here? Oh.' he saw the burned quiches. 'I think it's the first time you ever burned something to eat.'

'Yeah, someone diverted my concentration.' Brenda stated dryly, surprised by her honesty herself.

Frerin laughed at that. 'I don´t wanna hear it. Its bad enough that you go out with my brother instead of me…..tell me, is your friend Arwen still single?'

'Yes, she is and no, don´t even try.' Brenda scolded Frerin. 'Arwen only looks for serious relationships and no fooling around.'

'I thought you were such a woman, too. But then you would go out with Thorin, ey?' Frerin gave Brenda an amicable nudge, but missed the pained expression on her face at his words. Thorin didn't. He had just come out of the bedroom and had heard his brothers last words. Brendas expression surprised him. They had agreed from their first physical encounter that this was no more than a physical relationship. It had even been Brenda who had made it quite clear. Thorin had never thought about Brenda feeling the same way he did. And now it was obvious to him that she did.

'Come on, Frerin. Beers and pizza are waiting.' Thorin stepped into the living room. He turned towards Brenda who had full control over her expression again. 'Shall we order a pizza for you, too?'

Brenda thought about it for a moment, but somebody had to try her quiches and she could not do it herself when she was already full. 'No thank you. You guys have a great evening.'

Smiling after Thorin she closed the door behind the two Durins and walked back to the kitchen as she heard a knock. Frowning she opened the door and was surprised to feel Thorins lips on hers for a kiss goodbye.

'I really look forward to tonight.' he whispered and made her smiled dreamily.


	8. Chapter 8

Brenda dressed into her neglige and cuddled up on the sofa after a hard day of cooking and baking. But she was happy, she had figured out a few new recepies which she would offer to Dis. And now she tried to relax, but couldn´t because the butterflies in her stomach made her nervous everytime she thought about Thorin who had promised to come over lateron. Sighing, Brenda switched on the Tv and caught the remaining minutes of the rugby game. Good God, that was boring. Brenda could not understand how the guys could watch that half the day. Before she knew it Brenda had fallen asleep on the sofa and woke up as Thorin knocked on her door. Still half asleep she stumbled to the door and opened, only to look in Thorins amused face.

'Shall I come back tomorrow?' he asked as he saw Brendas sleepy face.

'No, come in. I just fell asleep while watching the game.' Brenda took his hand and pulled him in.

'You watched the game? Why?' Thorin was surprised, he had never thought Brenda was interested in such things.

Brenda yawned and cuddled back up in the soft blanket on the sofa. 'Just like that, there was nothing else to watch. But I fell asleep while watching, it was really boring. How can you guys watch such stuff for such a long time?'

Thorin smirked. That was the Brenda he knew. 'Well, its not just watching the game. We talk, we drink, we eat….its more of a guys evening. You know, its like when you ladies watch Sex and the City or that Vampire crap.'

'Vampire crap?' Brenda asked amused.

'Yeah, that awful movie with the vampire who never washes his hair.' Thorin explained with a grin.

'Oh! Twilight?' Brenda laughed. 'Meh, I prefer Sex and the City to that one. Did you have a nice evening, then?'

Thorin nodded. It had been nice to catch up with his brother again. They had been easy on the beer, Frerin was fast asleep on his couch and Thorin didn´t want to turn up at Brendas drunk. Smiling, he looked at the yawning woman with the disheveled hair on the other side of the couch.

'Are you sure that you don´t want to go to bed?' he asked chuckling.

Brenda bit her tongue. She wanted to go to bed, but not alone and not to sleep. She just thought of a nice way to express her feelings as she heard Thorin chuckle.

'What?' she smiled shyly at Thorin.

'Your expression shows what you´re thinking.' Thorin smiled.

'And what am I thinking?' Brenda leaned forward and cocked an eyebrow at Thorin, who grinned as he moved closer to her.

'You are thinking that you are sitting on the couch with an incredibly handsome and sexy man and you are still covered with this thing.' Thorin pulled away the blanket with one swift move.

'Am I?' Brenda teased and grinned at Thorin. 'Well, you seem pretty sure of yourself, mister.'

Thorin growled quietly and pulled Brenda closer for a kiss. He had waited for that the whole day since their shower. And now she had opened the door in this silk neglige which caressed her body like a second skin and it drove him crazy. Slowly he leaned on top of her and moved his hands over her side, making her moan quietly into the kiss. Thorin made his tongue move over Brendas lips with gentle brushes before he entered her mouth, exploring every inch of it and tangling tongues with her. Brendas hands tugged at his hair and pulled him down even closer against her warm body. As Thorin trailed kissed over her jaw and down her neck to suck at the nape of her neck Brenda sighed in delight. Thorin moved downwards, kissing and nibbling, placing kisses on every part of her body. He caressed and teased her nipples through the fabric of the neglige and made her cry out as he carefully took one between his teeth. Brenda arched her back as Thorins lips brushed over her belly and played with her navel through the fabric. Determined she pushed him back into a sitting position and sat down on his lap, straddling him. Kissing him passionately she began opening his shirt, this time one button at a time, caressing his chest while she did so. Thorins hands landed on her bottom, squeezing it and pulling Brenda closer into his lap, against his already painfully throbbing erection. Brendas hands on his chest send hot shivers through his body and Thorin sat up to get rid of his shirt. Breaking the kiss he moved to her neck, nibbling and biting, leaving marks for everyone to see. But Brenda did not mind. She did not have to stand in front of a class of students any longer, so the marks would not matter. With shivering hands she opened Thorins belt and his trousers, placing her hand on his manhood. Thorin arched into her touch and pulled down his pants and his shorts till he could slip out of them. They kissed and touched each other until Thorin thought he could not wait any longer. But he also could not get enough of Brendas tongue on him and her gentle hands on his skin. He made her neglige slip down her shoulders so that it was laying around her waist exposing her upper body to him. As he began sucking her breasts Brenda cried out her passion and grabbed his neck to arch into him. She lifted her hips until she felt his erect member brushing her entrance. That's when Thorin could not wait any longer. He grabbed Brendas waist and buried himself into her, up to the hilt. Brenda gasped as she felt herself filled completely and began moving in a slow and torturing pace. She knew that Thorin wanted to move faster, but she enjoyed teasing him. She let her head fall back, arched her back and rode him slowly, while Thorin was going insane. The slow lovemaking was incredibly intense and he relished in the sight of Brendas body moving on top of him. As she started to moan Thorin lost the remaining control over his actions and pulled Brenda close, starting to slam into her with powerful thrusts. One of his hands grabbed her hair and pulled her head down for a kiss, while the other one was wrapped around her waist and pushed her down onto his manhood spearing her core. Brenda gasped into the kiss as Thorin started to hit the sensitive bundle of nerves inside of her everytime he slammed into her. She was so close. Digging her nails into Thorins shoulder Brenda felt a mindblowing orgasm rip through her body and felt Thorin come inside of her. Thorin groaned as he reached his climax and fell back into the couch, pulling Brenda with him. Both were panting heavily and their bodies were glistening in their sweat.

'That was…..wow.' Brenda panted and felt Thorin chuckle below her.

'Just wow?' he asked teasingly.

'Wow is already pretty good.' Brenda grinned while redressing into her neglige and gasped quietly as he pulled out of her to lay down on the sofa with her.

'Then I am relieved.' Thorin stated and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. He was thankful that it was a big sofa and that they could cuddle up on it. For the moment he felt too tired to move anywhere else. The Tv was still running in the background and suddenly Brenda let out an excited cry.

'Lord of the Rings! That's my favorite movie!' she exclaimed happily and looked at Thorin. 'It has just started.'

Thorin smiled at her fondly. 'So you´re a nerd? Fantasy and stuff?'

'I love Peter Jacksons movie and if that makes me a nerd, then I am proud of it.' Brenda smirked.

'Alright, my little nerd. But don´t be surprised if I start snoring.' Thorin grinned and nuzzled his nose into the back of her head and pulled her into a tight embrace.

In the end, Brenda fell asleep while Thorin was totally fascinated by the movie. It was the first movie, The Fellowship of the Ring, and Thorin was fascinated by the wonderful landscape of this movie. He had never been to New Zealand yet and he made a mental notice to do so one day. As the ringwraiths appeared and shrieked menacingly Brenda awoke and nearly fell down of the couch.

'Whoa! I´m awake, now I´m awake.' Brenda looked at Thorin with wide eyes and started grinning as she realized that he was caught in the movie. 'And I´m the nerd, huh?'

'Just shut up and enjoy the movie, woman.' Thorin grumbled and pulled Brenda close again.

As the movie showed the council in Rivendell Thorin sneered. 'This elf looks like Professor Thranduil "Barbie" Wood. Could be his son. And the elf princess looks a lot like your friend.'

Brenda chuckled. 'Don´t tell her that. Arwen hates that movie. She fell asleep as we watched it in the cinema years ago. And she could not understand how a wonderful elven princess could give up her immortality for a man.'

'Would you have done so in her place?' Thorin asked Brenda and was curious about her answer.

Brenda thought about it for a moment. 'If it's the right man, then maybe.'

Her answer made Thorin remember what he had originally planned for the evening. It was already past midnight and Thorin began searching for his special something for Brenda. He had left it in his pants pocket and rolled over Brenda to reach for it.

'You´re crushing me, Durin. What are you looking for?' Brenda chuckled as Thorin pulled out something from his pants with a loud Aha.

Thorin hid his present for Brenda in his big hand while pulling her up into a sitting position.

'Happy Birthday.' Thorin smiled warmly at Brendas surprised face and took a deep breath before her gave her his present.

'How did you know?' Brenda knew of course that Dis must had told him that, but she felt a warm tingle in her heart as she realized that Thorin was the first to even think of her birthday, including herself. As she opened her hand to see what Thorin had given her, her surprised gaze fell onto the silver chain with the military pendant. A military identity disc. Thorins identity disc.

'Was it yours?' Brenda asked with a hoarse voice. She knew that such identity discs meant a lot to soldiers and militaries. 'I thought that you aren´t supposed to give those away.'

'I have two, this one is my spare.' Thorin explained to her. 'During the missions your whole identity is secured on that tag. If you want, you can carry me around now.'

'Thorin…..' Brendas voice was a mere whisper. It was probably the most meaningful gift she had gotten in a very long time. The most precious gift she had ever gotten was a golden ring from her grandmother, but this ring was hidden in one of her jewelery boxes since her grandmothers death.

Staring at the ID tag she did not know what to say and Thorin got the wrong impression.

'You do not need to wear it.' he stated carefully and felt a painful stinging in his heart. His hurt voice pulled Brenda out of her shock.

'This is…..are you…I´m sorry, I do not know what to say.' Brenda stammered. 'This is a wonderful present, Thorin. Thank you.'

As she looked at Thorin and saw his surprised face she realized that her reaction must have given him the wrong idea. She put the ID tag around her neck and chuckled as the tag dangled between her breasts.

'Yep, that's the right place.' She stated dryly and made Thorin laugh wholeheartly. Brenda pulled him close and kissed him on the lips. 'Thank you so much, Thorin.'

Thorin felt a huge relief at her words and took a deep breath. He gently kissed her forehead and lay his forehead against hers.

'Where is yours?' Brenda asked quietly. 'If I wear it, you should wear it.'

Thorin smirked lightly. He had not worn it for a long time, but Brenda was right. 'I´ll put it on first thing tomorrow.' he promised and smiled at Brendas satisfied sigh.

They spend the night on the couch in each others arms.

Thorin woke up first the next morning. His neck was stiff from sleeping on the couch in the cuddled up position, but as he saw Brenda sleep in his arms peacefully he felt that it was worth it. His ID tag lay around her neck and Thorin could not help but smile as he remembered the last night. They had not implicitly talked about it, but he hoped that it was clear to Brenda that he wanted more than a sexual relationship. He wanted to be with her.

Looking at the time he realized that they were supposed to be at Dis´s in an hour. He gently bend over and kissed Brenda awake.

'Wake up, sleepyhead.' he whispered and smiled as Brenda groaned sleepy and turned her back at him. 'Its time for breakfast.'

'I´m not hungry.' Brenda murmured and Thorin chuckled.

'You haven´t eaten anything in the last 12 hours. And you are not hungry? Quick, somebody get a medic!' Thorin joked and rolled over Brenda to lift her up into his arms. 'Maybe a cold shower will wake you up.'

Brenda shrieked and was awake instantly. 'Thorin, don´t you dare!'

One hour later Thorin and Brenda walked down the street to Dis café, hand in hand. They had almost not made it in time, but they had managed to shower and dress up without savaging each other. Frerin was already with Dis as Thorin sneaked back into his flat to change. As Brenda picked him up he was already waiting and her sight took his breath away. Brenda wore a white linen dress, a red waistcoat and brown boots and her curls fell down her back freely. Thorin had found his ID tag and wore it under the shirt in his favorite color, dark blue, and grabbed his leather jacket on his way out. They did not make it out of the house without kissing and clinging to each other and as they finally made it to the street they were both smiling dreamily.

Thorin had told Brenda that he wanted to invite her to brunch in Dis café and looked forward to her reaction to the surprise party. He knew that Brenda had no family left and hoped that she would not feel too overwhelmed. Frerin, Dis, Fili, Kili and Dwalin were coming and Arwen, Lobelia, Bombur and Balin were invited, too. They made it into the café without Brenda realizing that the customers at the Erebor café were only her friends.

'Surprise!' they yelled and made Brenda jump. In her surprise she stepped backwards and landed on Thorins toes.

'Oh, I´m sorry honey.' she murmured and Frerin, who stood close to them shot a surprised glare at Thorin who only smiled happily.

'Happy Birthday, sweety!' Dis exclaimed and hugged her friend who was still petrified.

'A surprise party, this is so sweet you guys!' Brenda hugged her friends, even Dwalin, who grumbled into his beard. 'And you….' she pointed to Thorin. '….you knew!'

'Of course I did.' Thorin stated gently and kissed her on the lips. It was more than obvious for everyone in the room that they were an official couple now.

'I see you already got your first birthday present.' Lobelia smirked and gave Arwen a nudge. 'Told ya.'

'Are you our real aunt now, Brenda?' Kili asked hopefully.

'Whoa there, little fella, one thing at a time.' Dwalin laughed and lifted little Kili up in his arms. 'You want to get Brendas cake together with Fili?'

'Cake!' Kili exclaimed happily and threw his arms in the air. Dwalin let him down and the little boy and his brother rushed to the kitchen to get the cake.

'Oh dear, I hope the cake will make it here in one piece.' Dis sighed. 'Come here, Brenda, sit down right here with Thorin.'

Brenda sat down on the huge couch in the middle of the café surrounded by all her friends and felt happy and at home for the first time in ages. Little did she know that Thorin was feeling the exact same way. He looked at his family, his friends and his girlfriend and sighed deeply. Finally he had arrived home.

Soon, Fili and Kili came back from the kitchen carrying a huge plate with a wonderful birthday cake on it. The cake was formed like a huge flower and Brenda sighed as she saw it.

'Oh Dis, it is beautiful! I don´t think that I can eat it!' Brenda giggled and watched the boys who concentrated on carrying the cake. 'Thank you so much guys!'

The boys slowly placed the cake on the coffee table in front of Brenda and she had so smiled at their effort.

'Blow out the candles, aunt Brenda!' Fili exclaimed.

'And you have to make a wish! But don´t tell us, that is bad luck!' Kili added.

Brenda smiled at the boys lovingly and blew out the candles. She wished that she could stay in this moment forever.

It was a wonderful Sunday morning and the café stayed closed for private function. Dis had filled the table with wonderful things to eat. Besides the birthday cake she had made Brendas favorite cheesecake and tons of cookies and of course eggs, ham and bacon and pancakes for her boys. Brenda thought that she might actually die from eating so much and leaned back into the couch holding her stomach. She sighed happily and closed her eyes and did not notice Thranduil sneaking in into the café. The first thing she heard was his acid voice.

'Am I interrupting?' he asked Brenda and sat down beside her before anyone could react.

'Yes, you are.' Brenda muttered, but she decided that she would not let that jerk ruin her birthday. 'What do you want?'

'I came here to apologise. I learned that you quit because of me and I feel terrible. How can I make this up to you?' Thranduil smiled at Brenda and Brenda felt like throwing up.

'You can make it up to me when you leave right now.' Brenda stated firmly. She saw Thorin stand at the counter, staring at the intruder menacingly. He was about to grab Thranduil and throw him out of the café, but Brenda slightly shook her head to tell him that she would handle it.

'Why so snarky?' in his arrogance Thranduil didn´t notice that he crossed a line as he placed his hand on Brendas arm. 'Relax, will you?'

Brenda was about to punch him in the face as a plastic plate with a huge piece of cheesecake flew by and hit Thranduil square in the face. The arrogant professor gasped and tried to wipe away the mess as Kili appeared at Brendas side and grinned widely.

'Happy birthday, Brenda!' he exclaimed happily and Brenda felt her heart warm up even more for Dis younger son.

'You better leave, Wood. Or I´ll make you.' Frerin had stepped close to Thranduil and grabbed his arm. Thranduil only sneered and with a last dark glance at Brenda he left the café Erebor.

The birthday party continued as cheerful as before and Brenda hugged Kili tightly. 'My hero!' she stated amused and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.

'Ewww…..kiss Thorin, he likes it!' Kili exclaimed and Brenda put him down laughing. Then she went over to Thorin and gave him a big kiss on the cheek, surprising him.

'What was that for?' Thorin asked her amused.

'Kili told me to give you a kiss. And I haven´t kissed you for so long already.' Brenda smiled as Frerin rolled his eyes.

'Oh my lord, you two are insufferable! Insufferably in love that is!' Frerin looked sick. 'I never thought that this would happen to you, brother.'

'You will find the one woman one day, too, brother.' Thorin smirked at Frerins disgusted face.

'One woman. I will find many women in the future, brother.' Frerin shook his head as he left to join Dwalin at the window. 'One woman…..' he muttered as he walked away.

Brendas heart had skipped a beat as she had heard Thorin talk about the one woman. She turned towards him and looked at him questioningly.

'The one woman?' she asked sheepishly.

Thorin only smiled at her lovingly. He gently placed a hand on her lower back and pulled her close, pressing her against him and whispered into her ear. 'The one and only woman.'


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So sorry, thats a short one and a short end. I firstly wanted to write a story with a better plot and a climax, but later I realised that I´d better go for a normal romance. Just two people falling in love, no more, no less. I hope you liked it anyway!

'What did you do to him?' Frerin glared at Brenda playfully. 'What have you done to my brother you little witch?'

'Careful, Durin. Only centuries ago women were burned alive because people accused them to be a witch.' Brenda lectured him and laughed quietly. 'Has Thorin never been in love before?'

'Not that I know off.' Frerin mused. 'You're the first.'

Brenda did not know what to make of it. She could not believe that Thorin had never been in love before and she did not know why she had been the exception. Brenda decided to ask Thorin lateron. Although she did not really care. They were in love and that was all that mattered to her at the moment.

After the wonderful birthday party Dis shooed Brenda out of the café. 'Tomorrow is your first day at work, get some sleep. Shall I keep Thorin here with me, so that you really get some sleep?' Dis grinned.

'I will accompany my girlfriend home and then I' ll come back and help you with this.' Thorin smirked and kissed his sister on the cheek. 'See you guys!'

'Thank you, guys. I think this was the best birthday I had in ages! You are the best!' Brenda hugged her friends goodbye. She paused at the door and gazed back to the people who had become her family in the last months.

'Get out, Baggins.' Frerin grinned at her.

Brenda grimaced at him and followed Thorin onto the street.

'Your girlfriend.' Brenda smiled at Thorin dreamily. 'That sounds nice.'

'You think?' Thorin took her hand and pulled her close. 'I think it sounds weird.'

Brenda gave him a playful nudge. She liked his honesty and she knew that he tried to please her by calling her his girlfriend.

'You do not need to call me your girlfriend.' Brenda assured Thorin. 'Take one step at a time. Frerin told me that you've never been in love before. Is that true?'

Thorin smiled faintly and did not answer directly.

'You're gonna kill Frerin for telling me this, right?' Brenda grinned widely and Thorin laughed.

'Yeah, I will.' Thorin nodded. 'But he is right. Although I have been in love a few times. First time in kindergarden.'

Brenda chuckled at the thought of a little Thorin running after a little girl in kindergarden. She felt at ease at his side. There was no tenseness and no awkwardness.

'Did you pull her hair to get her attention?' Brenda teased.

Thorin looked at her with cocked eyebrows. 'How did you know?'

Both laughed wholeheartly as they entered their building and walked up to Brendas flat. At the door Thorin leaned down and kissed Brenda gently.

'Goodnight.' Thorin would have loved to have stayed, but he had promised Dis to help her clean up the café.

'Thank you for the wonderful day.' Brenda grabbed Thorins collar and pulled him back for a kiss.

Thorins groaned and had to hold on to the doorframe. 'I won´t be able to leave when you continue this, woman.'

Brenda grinned into the kiss. 'That was the plan all along.'

Thorin chuckled and pulled himself away from Brenda soft lips and welcoming arms. 'See you tomorrow at work, darling. Ok that sounds even more weird.'

Brenda laughed quietly and gave Thorin a last kiss goodnight. 'See you tomorrow.'

Thorin almost hovered back to the café that night and tried to ignore the knowing smiles of his friends and family as they saw his dreamy expression.

The next day Brenda came to the café before it opened and helped Dis prepare the cakes and the first batch of coffee. Thorin was already making the boys ready for school and the floor above Dis and Brendas head sounded as if a herd of cattle was trampling over it.

'Thorin, all you have to do is get them into their clothes!' Dis yelled up with an amused tone.

'Believe me, I´m trying!' Thorin yelled back and made Brenda laugh. Fili and Kili really were a handful, no, two handful and Brenda could imagine that even Thorin had his difficulties handling the two small whirlwinds. Soon after it sounded like they had destroyed the whole flat Thorin came stumbling down, with Fili hanging around his neck and Kili under his right arm and a grip on their rucksacks and jackets. He blew Brenda a kiss and hurled himself and the boys out.

Dis grinned as she saw her friends dreamy face as Brenda looked after Thorin and his nephews. 'Do you know that Thorin looks exact the same way when he thinks about you?'

Brendas smiled grew even wider. 'Is that true?' she let out a big deep sigh and turned to her work again. 'Can you imagine that happened to us? I mean me and your brother. You and Dwalin. Life is good for once.'

Dis could only agree. In fact last night something happened that she needed to tell Brenda right away. She was so excited about it that she had not slept all night.

As Thorin walked back to the café he jumped as he heard his sister and Brenda scream right through the closed door. He rushed inside and saw the two women hugging, bouncing and screaming. Thankfully the café was not opened yet. Brenda was screaming something that Thorin could not identify because it had reached rate only dogs could hear. But apparently Dis understood because she answered the same way. Thorin shook his head and cleared his throat. Brenda and Dis stopped bouncing and screaming and looked at the shocked man standing in the café.

'What on earth...' Thorin could not even finish the sentence as Brenda rushed up to him and jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around him. Thorin nearly fell through the window and struggled to keep his balance. Brenda had caught him totally off guard. Thorin looked at his sister and cocked his eyebrow. 'You made funny brownies again?'

'No, silly.' Brenda kissed Thorin hungrily. 'I am glad that you´re back, by the way.' she whispered to him and got him highly aroused before she slipped down off him with a grin.

'Dwalin asked me to marry him.' Dis told her brother who only stared at her with big eyes. 'He asked me yesterday after everyone had left. And I said YES!'

The two women started shrieking again and Thorin could not help but chuckle. Women were crazy when it came to marriage. With a start Thorin became pale. What if Brenda wanted to get married now, too?

'Excuse me for a bit, I need to get upstairs for a minute.' Dis told her brother and her friend and rushed up to her flat.

'She is gonna scream into a pillow isn´t she?' Thorin sighed and winced as a high pitched scream filled the air.

'Nope, not into a pillow.' Brenda grinned at him. Then she walked over to Thorin slowly and with swinging hips. 'You´re not scared that I may want to get married now, too, are you?'

Thorin thought about answering honestly for a moment but then he heard Brenda chuckle. 'I saw you pale a few moments back, buddy.' she said and threw her arms around his neck. 'Don´t worry, we´ll take it slow. Ironically isn´t it, if we think about how we started. There was nothing slow in that.'

Thorin let out a quiet groan and grabbed Brendas behind, pulling her close. 'We could have been faster, but you had to go to Rome.'

'And you had to be a jerk and kiss Lobelia.' Brenda reminded him and that shut Thorin up for the next few seconds. Smiling reassuringly she tiptoed and kissed Thorin softly. Thorin leaned into the kiss which started to heat up as the first customer entered the Erebor café. With a sheepish smile Brenda pulled away from Thorin and greeted the young woman. She was one of the regular customers and always had her coffee to go from the Erebor café. Brenda had difficulties to concentrate on her work all day. She exchanged loving glances with Thorin while preparing coffee and cakes and managed to get nothing mixed up. Or at least nobody complained.

Dis wedding was a simple and small ceremony and the wedding party celebrated the wondeful day in Dis café afterwards. They were all there Thorin, Frerin, Brenda, Balin, Lobelia, Arwen, Ori, Bombur, his brothers Bofur and Bifur and of course Fili and Kili. The bride and groom looked so happy that it brought tears to Brendas eyes. Dwalin had almost fainted as he had seen Dis in the beautiful white dress and Thorin and Frerin looked upon their sister with the pride of older brothers. It was a beautiful sunny spring day and Thorin took his chance to snatch Brenda away for a walk after the ceremony. Brenda looked beautiful in her light green bridesmaids dress and Thorin held her close as they walked through the streets of York. He had been thinking about them for weeks now. Thorin had already asked the landlord if it was possible to buy the flats and if it was possible to combine the two flats into one big flat over two floors. The landlord had agreed to this and now Thorin had to ask his girlfriend.

'Brenda?' Thorin asked and earned a quiet Hmmmmmm? as answer. 'Things are going quite well between us and I was wondering...'

He stopped on the corner of Dis café and looked down into Brendas big brown eyes. 'I was wondering if you would move in with me?'

Brenda smiled at him lovingly. 'You mean I should move my stuff down a floor?'

'Well, kinda.' Thorin smirked at Brendas questioning look. 'I plan to buy the flats and then we could break through the floor and make a maisonette out of our flats. What do you say?' Thorin was nervous for the first time since he knew Brenda. He had no idea how she would react and he prayed to God that she would not say no.

'You want to buy our flats.' Brenda frowned. 'And turn them into a maisonette?'

Thorin nodded and Brenda noticed that he had the same puppy eyes Kili had. She liked the idea, but not quite.

'One condition, Durin. I´ll pay for my half.' Brenda smiled as Thorin picked her up and swirled around with her. As he put her down again he saw the necklace with his ID tag around her neck and took it between his fingers.

'You´re wearing it?' he asked her quietly.

'Every day.' Brenda said gently and kissed Thorin passionately. 'So, we are getting serious?'

'Does that scare you, Baggins?' Thorins asked playfully.

'Yes. But it does sound like a wonderful adventure don´t you think?' Brenda asked Thorin and they made their way back to the café Erebor, the place where they had met and had began to love each other.


End file.
